Progressing right along

I am working on this quilt...

It is a bohemoth 93" square, with I don't know how many hundred/thousand pieces. And the client (of course!) wants a custom. It's largely paper pieced, and is really well done. It lays flat, is mostly square, etc...all the things a longarmer would want to see. I just wish it was July and not 12 days before Christmas. I have SO many other things I need to be doing too.
I am using a gold Glide thread for much of the quilt. So far, I have somewhere near 18 hours invested, and I have gone through the entire quilt top to bottom, doing the gold stitching. There will also be black which I have started, but only on the center portion of the quilt, called the Costa Rican Cartwheel. The client loves and requested an abundance of feathers. So this is precisely what she will receive. I, personally, might do a little more curved cross-hatching or geometric stitching, but this will be pretty with feathers too. Plus they stitch reasonably fast (faster than the silly micro-filling!)

I have 2 more work days this week, so I hope to be nearly finished by the weekend. I am in need of a mental break from quilting.

Thanks for the nice "destressing" comments after my last post. I have had a couple of good days. Made 2 batches of cookies with my daughter yesterday, and watched a holiday movie with all 3 last night (while the hubby was off at a tech mtg). It's comforting when all kids can get along nicely. Makes me not fear the alone time with them quite so much!

Runner Fun

My Quilt is off of the frame for the first of wht will likely be several quilting sessions. I've shown a few sneak peek, but you'll have to wait until another time for a grand reveal. In the meantime, it is back to quilting as usual...customers and catch up. Here's the first of 2 table runners that this customer brought to me. All she requested was it to be fancy. That means: quilt the tan pretty, as this is the area that will show most.
I bit the bullet and used a sandy Rainbows thread. Generally speaking, I love this thread and the shimmery effect it has. It is espeially gorgeous on batik fabrics, but it can be a little bit persnicketty for me to work with. Sometimes I have more trouble with tension and with it creting small pokies on the topside. I decided since this was small, I'd venture into the potential trouble zone. Much to my surprise, it tensioned up very well, so I decided to use it on the entire quilt and not just the tan regions. What you cannot see from the pictures is that this thread has soft and subtle variations in color from ivory to caramel, and it has a gorgeos sheen. It creates a very formal look.

I suspect she will be happy. Her 2nd runner will have to wait until the weekend, as I have another deadline that I currently on the frame. Feathers, yummy and luscious feathers....

Pretty as a Posie

Another mostly custom quilt has come off of my frame. This one was started last weekend as I came down with a nasty cold. It's truly a wonder I got it done because I have been really sick. But my husband took the kids to a monster sledding hill on Saturday, and I got to quilt for an extra several unexpected hours (before the cold/sinus infection truly kicked into high gear).
My client is local. In fact she lives just down the street. This quilt was from a 2009 Quilter magazine, in practically the exact Lakehouse DryGoods fabrics. The materials are gorgeous. I have had ones in the pink line. They are a lovely weight and several have a beautiful irridescence/sheen to them. Her usual quilter wasn't up to quilting feathers for her so it was referred to me. With any luck, I will be able to get more of her business too.
The quilt is a 92" square, so that center section was quite huge to quilt - even on a machine with a 24" quilting space. She gave me a Select QD batting, which I really dislike. It's just too thin to show off the quilting appropriately. Plus the stuff tends to stretch if you are not really careful. Just imagine what this quilt would look like with wool... (dreaming!)

The material at the center is too busy to show off much quilting (especially loft-less quilting), but I stitched a feathered wreath. The green triangles are a gorgeous green/metallic gold tiny check. I just wanted this area to have texture, rather than over feathering the top and having the feathers disappear. I used that flower motif in a few other places so it was a logical thing to put there too. And then, her only real request was that the large white triamgles were feathered like the magazine. I suppose I could have swirled them around a bit more, but I mostly copied the spine layout that was done, and threw in a few more whimsical feathers for variation.

The rest of the quilt is busy fabrics that feathering is either hard to stitch well or hard to see on. These side pannels are pretty fabric, but were speaking to me "I need a trellis..." But not just an ordinary straight (ruler) cross-grid trellis, so I did the diagonal crosshatching with gentle wiggles. It is just a softer look. And the stripe down the sides of the trellis is just a simple egg-dart pattern stitched with template. I suppose it could have been slightly denser, but this is only going on her bed so it ought to be fine. The entire quilt sections are all SID anyhow.

In her log cabin blocks, I did a swirly background filler. It mimics the irridescent swirls that are on a few of the fabrics too, so it all looks very natural.

And a few token pictures of the back side... If there is a single fly in the ointment for this quilt it is the choice of a rather thin white for the backing. It was SO hard keeping track of rogue threads to ensure that you couldn't see them on the back.
It does not appear to lay flat because I have a foam mat underneath it.

I am sure that the client will love this. I am not a blue-gal, and I love it!

Next post I hope to offer up some things to anyone that might be interested. These may include fabrics, scraps, quilting DVD, and a deal quilting your utility quilts (non-customs). Tune in a couple days from now to read all about this.

It is now time for me to go remove this quilt from the blocking board. It is dry! (sigh...that means i have a large piped binding ahead of me today or tomorrow!).

Holiday Stars

Thirteen hours later, my quilt for a guild show in October is finally done. This is also the quilt I will take with me to the HQ retreat in 2 weeks. Some of you may recognize these blocks from last year from the Row Robin swap. I think I have used maybe half of the blocks from that swap. The others were ones I made from the same fabrics.
I wanted to custom quilt this top as nicely and as creatively as I could. I made it a goal that my sashings would not be quilted in an ordinary or boring fashion. I guess you could say I really wanted to think outside the box a little bit. In the end, I absolutely LOVE how the sashing quilting brings another dimension to the quilt of otherwise ordinary star blocks.

There is a proverbial ton of pebbling in this quilt...more than a mile's worth of thread went into the pebbling (and other quilting). I think that the pebbling and circles in the sashings pulls the quilt together.

This was the first time (I think) that I have pebbled down the spines of the feathers. I am considering doing this for a much larger border soon (10"), so I thought I'd try it out on something of mine first. First off, I just LOVE these feathers too. Secondly, I have feathered so much on this quilt and the last one I did that I am starting to see definite improvements in my backtracking accuracy. Having 2 batts helps that as well. I added a layer of cheapo-Joann's thinnest polybatt over my usual 80/20 batting. I do notice that this quilt is not a lofty as the last one, which had wool as the top layer instead of the poly. But the added layer makes all of the quilting that much more visible. Here's some closer looks at the blocks...

There are several repeated blocks on the top, and I tried to quilt them the same to be a bit more cohesive on the sampler. Still, the quilting does vary a lot.

The lighter green fabric is very pretty on this one - it has a slight metallic sheen. I wish I had more of this fabric throughout.

These friendship star variants were made by me. Quick, easy and not too boring.

I like the look of the curved cross-hatching. I quilted that on several blocks like this.

Here's another block I made several of (I think most of them went into the table runners last year though!). I love the touch of magenta, and the quilting too is very pretty.

I actually nearly forgot about a horrible near-disaster I had on this quilt. I was stitching along, doing the circles using a template when all of a sudden plexi-glass went all over the place. Aw crap! I actually hit the template with the needle! Now I have inadvertently hit the hopper foot on the templates a time or two and chipped the edge of the templates, but this was a mess. My needle immediately broke in half and kept on stitching for about an inch and a half before my brain registered what was happening and I could stop the machine. After removing the well jammed needle half, I realized the gross damage that stitching with half a needle causes. Thank goodness this quilt is actually mine and not a customer's. It damaged both sides of the fabric. It is along a seamline, thankfully, and is much less visible because of that. I treated the area with "no fray" and will probably forget about it! It will just go down into my chronicles of Longarm Quilting Adventures.

Here's my favorite view...notice how the circle quilting forms the stars at the point where there might be a stone in the sashing? I love when motifs are hidden and unplanned, and then discovered when the quilt comes off the frame.

And lastly, a few pictures from the back...

I must get it bound in the next 2 weeks. UGH. So many things on my plate right now. Before my trip...I must quilt at least 3 customer quilts, two table runners and if time permits, one of my aunt's quilts too. AND...do a little fixit job to Primavera before it gets sent off next week. First though, dinner and the kitchen are calling me.

Go sew and have a good weekend.

A VIntage Quilt gets New Quilting

As I said yesterday, I had a client send me the most beautiful quilt. It has an even sweeter story. Her 100 year old grandmother made the half-square triangles, and as I understand, assembled some of them into the 10"x19" units that make up the body of the quilt. They are made from reproduction (or perhaps they are authentic to the era, I'm not sure) fabrics from the 20's and 30's. I wondered if it were initially destined to be an Ocean Waves pattern, as shown above (from a current magazine). That was a common pattern made in that era. It is all immensely cheery. Now normally I cringe at quilts with a lot of white. I personally hate to sew with white. I cannot keep it clean to save my life. There's those unpredictible finger pricks, and unavoidable dirt. And it would just never stay white on any of my beds! So I knew I had my work cut out for me with this!

The owner specifically requested something "fancier" in the plain sashings. They are mostly 3" wide, so that left many possibilities. To make my job more challenging, the white that borders the blocks is both 2.5" and 2"! Just when I had my feathering groove, I'd start another section and have to rethink the rhythm.

We had originally discussed quilting something like curved cross-hatching or something simple and geometric and typical to that era in the HST's. She wanted something that would not accentuate how unexact some of them are pieced. There are a few places where as much as 3/4" is chopped off of a triangle point. Unfortunately, after trying to quilt the curved cross-hatching in one block, I found that the actual HST blocks vary anywhere from 3.375" to nearly 4". After cursing a bit, and ripping out the entire block, I decided that an all-over pattern with no regard for geometry was going to have to be quilted instead. I have used this swirly-feathery-freehand several times as a block or quilt all-over and like it. It flows well and is easy to fill with the echo. Hope Wendy likes it OK too. In the end, it only really provides texture and really takes a backseat to the feathering.

The yellow is quilted with a coordinating yellow thread. I chose to do swirls because there were just enough feathers on the quilt! I really love how they look.

There is one stripe on the back of white fabric, where the yellow quilting is evident. The rest of the back shows wonderful texture. This has got to be one of my favorite quilt backs to see!

It is all Backwards

The weather that is. It's March 2nd, and we have hardly had days in the 20's or even 30's in weeks. The snow is all gone, except for the remnants of 5 snowmen - a ball-shaped Stonehenge of sorts in the front lawn. I got out the kids' scooters and one bike today when I saw the thermometer in the 40's. I'm not crazy though. This is Maine, and it could still snow a foot tomorrow. That is how winter goes, and March or even April for that matter are still winter. It is nice for a day or so though.

This post is just a hodge-podge of things I have puttered with lately, in addition to quilting on a number of quilts for clients. The one above is my hand appliqued piece for the Maine Quilt Show this summer. It's not finished, and I am still tweaking the color balance, but that is essentially the outer boundary. It's 40" square. The lightest batik near the center is getting ripped out. I don't like it, and I plan to do some whimsical circles in a couple of shades of lime. Then it is off to the machine quilting design studio for further though!

I am in week 4 of Feather Bootcamp at MQResource. I have taken this class a bit lackadaisically, in that I have read all the materials weekly, but not done much machine time until last weekend. Yesterday's lesson was on circle wreaths. I don't sew them often, but need to!

My "practice" piece for the class is this aqua fabric. I'm too pragmatic to use scrap fabric and contrasting thread (as it will make an UGLY product!). So I went for the contrasting ones in hopes of not screwing it up royally and being able to wing a donation quilt out of it. It has feathering on the borders, a few of those hearts, and meandered feathers all over it. And I mean ALL over it. Not my favorite thing to quilt. In the holes, which were not really supposed to be there (doh!), I raw edge appliqued some jungle animals. There are 6 or 7 of them. I abhor raw edge applique, but I was able to do this with the machine on the frame, steaming the fusible without removing the quilt! It's abstract and cute and some kid will like it.Here's a client's quilt that just got mailed back today. I am not a fan of white quilts, but much of the quilting world is! I was off my rocker when I proposed quilting this diagonally. It had WAY too much stop and starting. Need to rethink some strategies more next time. The owner wanted a modern feel, with (to my surprise), no feathers! I like the pebbles and the leaves and there is a ferny outer border. And did I mention it is a KING?...huge.

So I have another king mounted and started. It's in pretty batiks and I am loving the look of the Rainbows thread on this one.

Summer Quilt is Finished

OK, well I think that the quilting is finished of my Summer Quilt. That point of absolute certainty does not come quickly when I am doing my own quilting. For some reason I have to overthink my own projects way more than I would anybody elses. So how long do you think it took me to quilt???... Not counting pinning it to the frame, 22 hours. That is frightening! Summer Quilt, and it's February??...Not sure where the name originated, as it has seen at least 2 summers in it's life thus far. I think that the soft sandy and aqua/teal colors reminded me of the beach.

So here is the top, or as much of the top as I can show given the fact that it is 100" square (and my hallway is NOT!). Am I happy with it?...You betcha! I love it, or most of it anyways. The curving bands of feathering are fantastic (even when you consider that some of those feathers are more like "hot dogs" and "potato chips" - Suzanne-isms from my Feather Bootcamp class). I am stoked to get the binding on in the evenings, once I get a little bit more applique completed on another quilt.

Here's a closeup of the feathered star. I didn't really use a pattern on this...that is why some of the pieces do not come together exactly as they probably should. Still, I think the design is pretty decent considering it was ad-libbed, one block at a time. I wish I had recorded how long this quilt took me to make. I vaguely remember each of the 18" blocks (and there are 9) taking 2-3 hours to construct. I was pretty anal about maintaining every point.

As I said previously, this was the quilt I sent to Carla to quilt whisper as a part of the MQResource QW class I did last month. Look back a post or 2 to see a link to what she drafted up. In hindsight, I probably could have quilted what she drafted, in it's entirety, but I decided to meld my favorite designs for the quilt with the ones she proposed that I liked best. I did not do quite as much SID or ruler work as she may have proposed. Frankly, I hate ruler work, and it is not my best thing! Also, I decided I loved the slightly more lofty look that the wonderful wool batting gave, so I opted not to "quilt the heck" out of it, even if the design was magnificent! None the less, I am grateful to her for her great ideas for the piece; many were incorporated. I'm curious what she'd think of the finished project!

This is the center of the feathered star. I still have a couple of bits of stitching to take out in the pebbling, so ignore that for now. I love how the curved cross-hatching looks in the block backgrounds. I am still having a hard time loving the curved stitching in the triangles, because this is an area I should have used a template and not freehanded it. It could look better, more consistent, and I know it. Problem is, it was stitched integrally with the CC, and removing it will mean that the CC might come unstitched too. Yuck! I can live with it I have decided. And I know how I will do it differently next time. The learnings are half of the battle. I dithered on how to quilt the feathered part of this star (above), and in the end opted to go with Carla's fancier design. It is, afterall, the center focal of the quilt and should not look under-quilted.

It is time to tahe a damp cloth to remove the rest of the purple marking pen. It's funny how the feathers around the blocks show up for the pictures. They were practically nonexistent while I was quilting them - to the point where it felt like I couldn't see the stitching whatsoever. I didn't know if I'd backtracked properly. Happliy, they all look pretty decent.

I absolutely love the feathering in the outer border....the way they surround the stars is one of those great finds that happened purely by chance! And while I was quilting it, I really could not wait to see the back. It's all stitched with an aqua Bottomline thread, so nothing but the texture shows. I am definitely investing in more Bottomline - I love it.

And the stripe around the periphery of the back of quilt miraculously ended up just about where it was supposed to. It may be a quarter of an inch more towards one side, but who's measuring???

Oohh...lovely texture. My bed definitely needs a new bedskirt to match these soft tans and aquas, but I'm not sure I have time yet. I must attend to some lack of attention I have been giving Feather Bootcamp, and load on some scrap fabric and practice feathers for Suzanne!! Because I have several customer quilts arriving next week that need my attention :-)

Have a good week! I'll post pics from a client's quilt this weekend. It's enroute to her as I type in California. It was fun and turned out great too.

So, ...if you like this quilt, just remember, I can quilt for you too - just email me! msolomo1@maine.rr.com

Long Time in the Waiting

I have been wanting to have this quilt top quilted for over a year now. I initially thought I'd send it to the Amish to hand quilt last summer, and then the plans for getting the longarm started falling into place. I held off quilting it in the earlier months for fear I'd ruin it. Afterall, I spent 8-9 months with the intricate piecing, and did not want to blow that. Additionally, I have had grandiose plans for how I wanted the quilting to be, and I had to actually learn how to quilt that!
Right now, I have about a dozen quilt tops about to be sent or brought to me, so I am taking advantage of the lull to get my quilt on the machine. The backing has a 3" band which I hope will be centered around the periphery of the quilt. This is next to impossible to do hand basting, but on the frame seemed much more doable. The back is a soft aqua Andover dimples, and that stripe is a dainty and old-fashioned small flower (and not just taupe as it appears).

The first bobbin of aqua bottomline is coming off the winder. Please overlook the rest of the mess on that table. Some housekeeping really needs to take place soon...

Viola...1 hour in and the top and backing are on, and basted at the top and sides. I am taking "quilt top floating" for a trial run with my quilt. I figured that with all of the blocks on point and set in seams, this quilt is likely not to be as square as I think it is. I am also curious what all the hype (good and bad, but definitely vocal) is all about regarding "floating" or "partial floating". So far, after 4-5 hours of quilting I can say it is a bit of a pain because a TON of batting and top hang in an area I like to have clearer. There is no easy access to see underneath to the backside. Also, with this technique, you have to pin the quilt often, and access is restricted.

I have incorporated design features from Carla's Quilt Whispering class. Scroll down and you can see what she drafted for the quilt! It's gorgeous and aggressive, and more at her ability rather than mine. I took ideas and some patterning from her design and merged these with what I drafted for the quilt. So far I am tickled! Above is a continuous-line pattern I designed for the quilt's outer 4" border. One of my requirements with quilting is to limit the stops and starts, as they waste too much time and thread. And below...the design partially marked on the border...

...And then sewn all across one side. One other thing I have done differently with this quilt is to test out a Hobbs Heirloom wool batting. I have heard that it is just lucious to quilt with and that it gives the best definition to the quilting. And boy, are the rumors right. I just love this stuff! It is not cheap, but for special quilts, it is worth the cost. Consequently, since I love the little bit of "poof", I modified Carla's design so that it does not yield such an over quilted (and flat) quilt. FYI...I found the batting at www.heartbeatquilting.com for only $35 (king sized) and this was a good $10-15 cheaper than anywhere else.

This morning I started on the 2 rows of wide feathering (only after doing way more SID than I like around the stars and stripes of the border!). I am only now taking a Feather Bootcamp online class, but I am not unhappy with how my feathers look (my repetoire just needs expanding!). The next shot is before I decided that the 2" darker taupe band really did need more quilting.

Because of the odd shape of blocks on point and the fact that they are large blocks, I have to quilt parts of blocks rather than the entire thing.

I know it all looks simple, but I just don't want to overflatten the quilt. Question...Would you do something more with the darker taupe stripe (which currently just have SID and the teardrpos quilted??)? If so, then what?

Much of the first block is quilted now. I don't know that I "love" the larger curves in the teal parts of the star, but that is because I know they could have been done more symmetrically and better. I love the curved cross-hatching though.

16" of quilting done, MUCH more to go!... Probably another 12 hours if I am estimating properly. Maybe this will go faster since I know what I am doing, but it is still slow because of not being able to do a full block at a time, etc.

Tomorrow...quilt the red and aqua blocks, and start on the points of the feathered star. This may be slow, however, because there may be a change of thread colors to a burgundy.

The texture on the back is wonderful. The tension looks great (a sigh of relief!). Thank you Bottomline and wool!

Stay tuned for another update later this weekend and perhaps some more peeks of the applique quilt I showed earlier this week.