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!

Mystery quilt and class

I had hinted that there was something secret going on in my sewing ... and now that the mystery class is over, I can show you the quilt:

Ta da!  Before it was quilted ...

I love teaching mystery classes ... it is a class from 10 to 4, and I always include lunch.  It has such a different feel than my regular stash classes, because we are set to spend the entire day together!  We use the time to sew, chat, develop our friendships, and just enjoy the common bond that we have ... being women, mothers, grandmothers, whatever it is.  I leave one block at the store to show you what the quilt will "kind of" look like ... you at least see a design and colors that I use.  I leave a supply list and that's when the questions begin ... my students/friends crack me up ... they always try to pry out of me information about the quilt to see what it looks like.  It's so funny ... the thing I always find so interesting is that almost every person that signs up for a mystery class is an "a type" personality ... I'm that way too ... but they always challenge themselves to go out of their comfort zone and trust that they will love what they come up with.  It has been so fun over the last few years to see everyone's creations ...

These are several samples of work from the class ... I love them all!!  I also love to see how people experiment with color -- maybe the opposite color of mine -- pattern in a fabric ... it's why we all love quilting ... a small piece of fabric looks a lot different when cut and sewn, then it did when it was a part of a yard!

I took the quilt home with me last week after class (I usually leave it at the store so students can look at it later); I am determined to try and get some of my own quilts quilted.  So without thinking about what quilt I SHOULD put on my frame, I made a back this week, loaded the quilt, quilted it, bound it, and even sewed the binding on.

You may be saying to yourself ... big deal ... that's how I finish a quilt too.  However, when you quilt for others as a business, you hardly ever finish your own quilts!  It doesn't make sense ... I know it doesn't ... I have a stack of quilts here in my home that need to be quilted ... and I have a small stack of finished tops at the Country Loft that are class samples that stay in the classroom for customers to see ... they need to be quilted as well.  Wouldn't it be great if I could just get on a track of quilting my tops?  I'll work on that and let you know what happens!

At long last ... hello!

Hello friends!  I kind of disappeared for a couple of weeks ... it means I was really busy and trying to keep on top of several things.  My kitchen countertops are done; I have forbidden our contractor to come back and finish until the end of August ... he is great and I love the kitchen, but I am tired of cleaning up and I just need a break!!  He kind of looked at me like "are you sure?"  Who tells their contractor NOT to come!  Haha

Sweet daughter went back to college ... she is a senior this year!  Yikes!  So happy for her ... it was time for her to be done with summer and get back into her swing of things.  Hubby went back to work after his summer break (works in the school system); so I have been enjoying some peace this week ... well if you count three crazy dogs, peaceful ... but at least I don't have to deal with humans!  I think the dogs listen better to me ... but that's debatable!

I have been busy the last couple of weeks quilting and sewing.  I quilted this lovely quilt for my customer and friend ... it is a stash class quilt that I taught a couple of months ago.

She is so great at finishing her projecjts ... and they are usually given away to someone ... she is so generous!

She will tell you she isn't a quilter ... but I have seen her skill level improve so much!  Just look how those points all come together ... that is hard!  This quilt was a challenge for me as well.  It came out beautiful!

I love the look of her quilt ... The black diagonal and the gold diagonal ... So classy!  I did a simple stipple ... not small, but maybe medium.  Just to give it texture ... that's what she likes (and p.s. ... you know that's what I like too!).  I used Superior Omni thread in top and bobbin.

Enjoy your weekend ...

One of my own ...

Has anyone noticed that I have not been posting my stash reports?  Well ... I have taken a short break from them, and promise to catch up in a couple of weeks.  Although I haven't been posting by week, I have been keeping track of what I use, and have purchased no fabric in the last couple months ... Yep, you read that correctly!  Haha!!!

I finally got to quilt one of my own quilts a couple weeks ago ... Remember this from last year?  I made it over the summer while my daughter was home recouping from pneumonia.

This has turned into one of my favorite quilts.  I love the color combination.

A lot of these taupe fabrics I got for sale on the Bunny Hill website ... I didn't know what I was going to use them for, but they were too good of a deal to pass up!

One of my favorites in this quilt is the gray with black polka dots ... called Little Black Dress from Moda.

I used Suoerior Omni thread in a tan color ... Free motion stippling.  For my own quilts, I seldom choose something intricate.  I really like an all over, simple pattern, and am so excited to just get it done!  The stipple is a very easy pattern for me ... It's the quickest one ... I can crank it out pretty fast!

Love the back as much as the front!

I was not happy, however, to find I hadn't prepared any binding.  Not a problem ... After I trimmed it, I used all my leftover scraps for the binding!

Made even easier using my 2 1/2" accucquilt die ... Presto magic

...

I stagger the colors and before you know it it's getting sewn down ...

Now comes the fun stuff, hand sewing the binding to the back.

Thanks for letting me gush about one of my own quilts!!

A quilt!

Yes I have been longarming ... I did this customer quilt last week ...

Isn't it adorable?  A block of the month by JoAnn Mullaly from a couple of years ago ... The pattern is Alphabet Tags.

Look how cute ... I doodled around the stitchery in each block ...

Just did a little curly swirl all over the rest of the quilt.  Love that owl block!

I love to work on quilts that have so much interest ... Makes it fun to see what's coming up next ... Used my favorite Superior Omni thread in the top and bobbin ... One of my favorite colors, Bronco.

Didn't she do a beautiful job!  It's such an adorable quilt! 

Anybody want a beagle?!!  Haha