Hello ... happy new 2017!

I am still here and jumping full feet back to the blogging world!  I have been instagraming ... find me @quiltingunderthesun - I like Instagram because posting is quick, but I miss blogging ... it's my diary to myself and to my friends!

The last couple months I've been too busy ... my mom suffered a small stroke Christmas Eve ... she hadn't been well for a couple months, so I wasn't surprised ... she looks better now than she has in years ... blessings come in all forms ... I spent Christmas Eve watching her all day ... the meaning was not lost on me.  That woman has angels following her for sure!

 

Back to my world outside of my mom ... my son is finally engaged to the love of his life ... so excited!  They are planning their wedding for later this year ...

 

My beautiful daughter graduated college May 2016 and is interning in Greece for a year ... she's on the adventure of her life ... but I haven't seen her since August and I really miss that sweet face!

 

... adorable granddaughter Ky, is going to be 4 ... she's in preschool and just growing into her huge personality!  She so reminds me of her daddy ... her step momma to be, my future DIL, has a lot on her plate!! 💕

 

And finally me ... trying to keep it all together ... January has never been my favorite month ... but I'm changing my world ... one day at a time!  Got into my sewing room finally ... had so much fun yesterday ...

 

A quilt top I made years ago from some left over brushed flannels ... played around quilting it since I haven't been able to quilt in over a month!  Nice to get one of my own tops out of the way

 

And just started this scrappy project the last few days ...

 

Looking forward to 2017 and what it holds ... reminded that every day is a fresh start and a new adventure!  I've missed my friends here!  Much love ...

Half square triangles

Another quilt that I completed recently.

This is a beautiful quilt I did for my friend Julie.

It is for her son for Christmas ... Nothing fancy, just my simple swirl

In my favorite Omni color, bronco.

What a pure beauty!

Hearts for a baby

At least I think this was a baby quilt ... Isn't it cute?

I don't normally do real detailed custom quilting, but I felt like this quilt really lent itself to something different.  I had a design I saw from Green Fairy Quilts that I wanted to try 

The design down the middle of the border ... It was really fun and I like the way it came out.  The only trick was I had to turn the quilt after I did most of it so I could get the side borders done.  It was a little time consuming, but better than rolling forward and back.

I love the spirals in the inner border

Just did a little loopy design in the outer border

Wavy lines through the hearts and a fun flower design in the half square triangle blocks.

She loved it!

It was all free motion and I didn't mark anything.  Omni thread in the top and bobbin in a creamy white.  What fun!  Thank you Judy for entrusting me with another beautiful quilt.

Some longarm quilting

I have been busy quilting through some technical difficulties.  There seem to be bad gremlins that live in my quilt studio ... When I'm not looking they love to mess with my longarm machine and cause problems.  I take great care of my machine ... Cleaning and oiling between bobbins as I am supposed to.  I have a dust cover and cover it when the machine is not in use ... But through all this, little problems still arise.  The first problem was I would have long stitches when quilting from right to left, only when I was trying to go in a fairly straight line, not during all over free motion quilting.  Upon further inspection, and a lot of frustration, I realized the wheels that ride on the back of the machine carriage that glides on the frame were not all hitting the frame ... One in particular was not making a good connection at all ... That messes with the stitch regulator, and it won't read correctly ... Now how do wheels all of a sudden stop connecting on the track properly ... Gremlins!  So I got out my tools and adjusted two wheels ... Now one of them is a little too low on the track so it is creating a little stiffness when I hit certain areas, but I'll take stiffness any day over long stitches that have to be ripped out!  

Then all of a sudden bobbin tension was not quite tight enough ... Kept tightening and tightening but still it didn't look great.  Decided to remove the bobbin washer that is supposed to help the bobbin spin more smoothly ... All of a sudden perfect tension ... I have been using a bobbin washer for 3 years ... Why doesn't it work now .... Gremlins!  I can't find a great imagine of what I think my gremlins look like .  But this is as close as I can imagine

Haha!  They're not bad little guys, just mischievous!

Once I got these snafus under control, I got this great quilt done ...

A beautiful sampler quilt Jayne made

Her piecing was so beautiful I didn't want to take away from it so I just did a loopy swirl

See the beautiful bobbin tension?

Please forgive this terrible picture , but it gives you an idea what I got to look at while I was quilting!  Used my favorite Omni bronco color thread in top and bobbin.  Now if only the gremlins will stay away so I can get some more quilting done!

A Block of the Month

One of my customers gave me a quilt a little while ago.  It is a block of the month from a couple of years ago and is a beautiful autumn quilt.  She added a lot of her own details to this quilt ... Extra embroidery and some beautiful threads.

When I quilt a quilt like this it takes extra time because you have to be really careful to not catch the decorative threading. It is also tricky if the stitcher doesn't pull the stitching very tight, and then it catches quite easily.

I was really careful, especially while echoing around the appliqué.

Didn't she do a beautiful job?  I had a great time custom quilting it and deciding how to make each block a little different.

I did the top and bottom borders and then quilted the entire quilt, leaving the side borders undone.  I took the entire quilt off the frame and pinned it on again so the side borders ran horizontally. It is much easier to quilt it that way with echoing the vines then trying to roll back and forth, if that makes sense.  I used Omni in the top and a magna glide prewound in the bobbin.

I think she is going to love hanging this quilt this fall.  What an honor to put my touch on such a beautiful quilt.

Buzzing along

Well after being on vacation for a week, I had to get back to my longarm!  I did 4 quilts this last week ... Woo Hoo!

One of them was a bedspread for a friend, and I didn't get any pictures, so you'll just have to trust me!  She just used a fabric on top and a fabric on the back, and I quilted it using a simple stipple.

The first quilt I did this week was for my friend Kathy ... Her grandson is graduating from high school ... This was my wonky quilt pattern and it came out so cute!  It is the second one she's made.

It is meant to be used as a bed quilt so I did a simple stipple .... Fast and keeps the quilt together well through those many washings.

She certainly has the hang of the wonky block ...

This one is super wonky ... Love it!  I used my favorite color Omni thread in Bronco in top and bobbin.

Now her grandson will have a big warm hug every time he snuggles under his quilt!  Thanks Kathy for the honor of quilting this for your precious grandson!

Only Six Left

... Six quilts left that is it!  I mean six customer quilts.  We won't talk about how many of mine need to be quilted.  They are not even in the count!

This quilt I have had since last May and another great friend was very patient!  It was from a string quilt class that I taught.  I love this quilt ... It is a great way to use up your scraps.  In my stash I have strips cut from 1" to 3 1/2"; when my bins are full it is time to do something with them. My bins are full, so I think it is time for a string quilt!

 

I did a close together stipple because I love the way the design looks on a busy quilt like this.  It just gives it so much texture.

I used Omni thread in top and bottom in a gold color.  It really popped on the darker colors.  One of my longarm teachers told me when you're not sure of a color thread to use, try gold.

Next was this adorable baby quilt.  I have decided that minkee and flannel are my two favorite backings!!  When you quilt over them, the fabric just soaks up the stitches and it looks beautiful!  It also really feels good when you're quilting on it as well.

 

I did a curly swirl with a heart thrown in here and there.  Omni thread in top and bottom in Baby Pink.

This quilt is so cute ... I love the pink and brown, and with the minkee on the back, I want to curl up with it!

 

And look who is the cutest valentine ...

She just started walking this weekend and she is so proud of herself!

Keeping Busy

Trying to work through my stack of quilts to be done and catch up.  This quilt was fun and special to do as it was for a friend's grandson.  He is a sweet little boy and I am in love with his spirit!  For some reason he reminds me of my son when he was little.  They both wear glasses and that may be what triggered that comparison ... Can I tell you how impossible it was to keep glasses on a 3 year old, and how many times we had to enlist the help of his angels to help him find the glasses?  Haha ... The second day he had them he left them on the ground and stepped on them!

This is such a simple pattern, but more appealing because of that.  I can just imagine it on my little friend's bed.

I just did a more open meander.  A boy's quilt getting a lot of wear and tear needs a design that is sturdy.

I used Omni thread in top and bobbin in the color, Flax.  

Look at how cute her back is!  It took a little math to start the quilting far enough down so there was the same amount of fabric at the top and at the bottom, centering the back just so.

It was a delight to quilt this, imagining how special it is going to be to for a very wonderful boy!

Merry, merry

Well ... whew ... that is the first word that comes to mind ... whew!  Amongst this season of everything screaming at us to hurry and shop, hurry and bake, hurry and be done, hurry, hurry, hurry ... I am trying NOT to hurry!  I am trying to just listen to the Christmas music I love, enjoy the people that I love, and keep busy ... to keep my mind off of all the things I am supposed to have done by now ... ha ha!

The move into my room continues ... the longarm was taken apart and reassembled last Sunday.  I made myself sick I was so worried about it ... I hired our handyman who I trust and who is wonderful, but still ... not the person that knows the machine.  He did a great job with the help of my hubby and son.  I started quilting on Monday on the machine and there was a big stiff spot and almost a drop, in one section of the machine.  I realized after fighting it for a while, that it was really a simple fix ... the frame wasn't square.  Got out my tools and loosened all the main connections and everything settled.  Felt so proud of myself!  I have since done 5 quilts on it, so I am good to go!  Yes, you read that right ... six quilts in the last week ... no wonder I feel like I'm not getting a lot of Christmas done!

I'll work backwards and show you a few of the quilts ... this beauty is a Kim Diehl pattern that a friend of mine made ... isn't it adorable? 

 I was a little worried about outlining around the applique ... sometimes I don't like the look ... I just don't feel like it blends well.  I decided to go around everything, it was what my friend wanted 

... but there needed something else to give it dimension, so I went in and out of some of the elements highlighting them. 

 I think it gives great texture and my friend loved it!  She is easy to please ... but I love it too ... and I'm not easy to please!  ha ha

I used Omni on top and bottom ... free motion all the way!  I am becoming a huge fan of this thread and I see it edging all the other threads I've used out ... it is very reasonably priced, comes in about 144 colors, and I can use it top and bobbin.  It also stitches beautifully!

Here is an adorable little quilt of another friend ... it was made with those little templates ... I can't remember what they're called. 

 Again, Omni in top and bottom and free motion.  I love this color Omni thread ... it is called Bronco ... it's a caramel color, lightish brown and blends well with many colors.  I have two cones of the same color I liked it so much!

I also used this color to quilt three memory shirt quilts; a friend of mine has so kindly been making them for months now for a friend of their's that lost her husband.  She made five ... I have quilted four, one more left.  I did not take pictures, as I just felt it wasn't appropriate.  I did a stipple on all of them; she bought minkee (spelling?) for the back and that is quickly becoming my favorite backing to quilt on.  It made me a little nervous at first because it is so stretchy.  But the plushness of it is wonderful!  It just soaks up the stitching and the back looks amazing because you can see all the detail.  It really feels great from the top as I am quilting.

Next up is this adorable quilt for a little boy ... what fun it is to quilt something so cheery and sweet!

  I just did my loopy swirl, going around the animal stitching ... it looks so cute and I'm sure that little person will love it! 

 I used King Tut on top and Glide in the bobbin.

Okay ... off to try and decorate my house ... we do keep everything up through the epiphany, January 6, so I never start too early in the month, but I feel like it's a little later than usual.  Oh well, I should just stop fretting about getting things done on time and realize I am always going to be a little behind!  Ha ha ...

And here is the sweetest thing for me this Christmas season ...