Marleen made this quilt as a gift for her first great-granddaughter. I free-motion quilted a continuous flower design with loops. Although it is technically custom quilting, free motion allover designs don’t take much longer than pantographs, and once in a while it is really fun to just quilt without having to follow a commercial design.
I can barely believe it myself but I actually managed to get some sewing done. When I first started the longarm business, I made three small sample quilts that were exactly the same and then quilted them in different ways. I wanted to be able to show customers the difference between a meander, an edge-to-edge design and custom quilting. If you have never heard of the differences before it is much easier to just look at a sample instead of trying to understand a long explanation. I wasn’t overly concerned with the pattern of the sample quilts and just used scraps from my stash. I was a bit surprised when I took the sample quilts to shows and people started asking for the pattern. I promised to write one but of course could never find the time. And I decided the quilt needed to be a larger size, the original samples just had 16 blocks each and were fairly small. The pattern is almost written, just needs a few finishing touches, and I also finished the top. Now to find some time to actually quilt it…
This beautiful batik quilt was made by Karen (a different Karen this time) as a birthday gift for her son. We didn’t have to think about the quilting design very long, the fabrics feature bears, moose and deer which made “Deer in the Woods” perfect for this project.
Karen is making reversible strip quilts as gifts for her grandchildren. The fabrics feature some of their hobbies/passions. This one has music on the front and sports on the back for her grandson. The quilted music notes are a pantograph called “Music #2”.
This floral quilt was made by Loraine from a kit she bought a long time ago. We looked at floral patterns for quilting at first but then decided that there was already so much going on in the quilt that a neutral pattern would work better. With “Overlapping Crop Circles” we picked up the circular design of the background and backing fabrics, it creates beautiful texture. (Yes, there are circles in these fabrics even though it looks like the backing is just stripes… you might have to take a look at the full size picture 🙂 )
Ciska made this quilt using fabrics by Canadian designer Shania Sunga. (She also designed the Canadian Mystery Quilt and Homecoming, the most beautiful interpretation of the Canadian Flag. If you are not familiar with her work, be sure to check it out.) Ciska lived in Australia for a while and fell in love with the Koala quilt when she saw it. The quilting design is called “Diagonal Plaid Bias Cut”, the backing is cuddly Fireside.
I am back! And I chose the right day to fly back, there was snow here last Friday, and it snowed again yesterday but when I landed in Vancouver on Saturday, the roads (and runways) were clear. We are currently under an Artic Outflow Warning, schools are closed today, and traffic is a mess. It was a bit too warm yesterday before the artic air moved in, and there is a layer of ice underneath the snow which makes driving a nightmare. The highway is in really bad shape, lots of cars in the ditch, and there are still people driving like maniacs. Do they think winter tires alone make them invincible?
With temperatures around -12°C (approx. 11F) the weather is perfect for staying inside, drinking hot tea and sewing. Or writing patterns. I finally uploaded the full Tuxedo Cat pattern, both in English/Imperial and German/Metric and also updated all the direct links in the previous posts. I am not really happy with the picture of the quilt since it isn’t straight at all but there is no way I am going outside to take another one. Finished is better than perfect (says the perfectionist without really believing it… ), I will fix it when the weather cooperates. For those who missed most or all of the blocks and have been waiting to purchase the full pattern, it will be available with a discount until January 20, 2020. Enter the code TC2020 during checkout for 10% off.
Edit: Seven months later, and I finally managed to take a new picture…
I would also like to thank all of you for your comments of comfort and sympathy. I usually try to reply to every comment individually but in this case I just didn’t have the time. The internet can be such an ugly place sometimes, even the quilting community can be quite nasty once in a while, which makes me appreciate the kindness and thoughtfulness of those who left a comment on the passing of my Dad even more.
Für die deutsche Version mit metrischen Maßen bitte dem Kauflink unten für die englische Version folgen und beim Checkout angeben, dass die deutsche Version gewünscht ist. Ich verschicke dann per email die Anleitung in der gewünschten Sprache.
Darlene used up scraps for this quilt, stitching lots and lots of squares together around the centre panel. When I saw the cozy flannel backing she chose, I knew right away that this project needed to be quilted with the “Deer in the Woods” pattern that has trees, deer, moose and bears.
“Sunnyside Up” is the third and last of Elaine’s three Christmas gift quilts for her granddaughters and also the name of the Moda fabric line she used for this project. The cheerful colours and floral fabrics asked for another flower pattern, and “Wandering Daisies” was my choice for this quilt.
This quilt is the second of the three Christmas gifts for Elaine’s granddaughters. The quilting design is called “Ginger Flower”, the floral fabrics called for something flowery. All three quilts have cuddly Fireside on the back.
