Nate and Jenny's Quilt

 This is the third of the 3 quilts Jenny commissioned for her family. This one for her and her husband. She knew she wanted it to be gray and yellow, so we worked to find exactly what she would like. I made a pattern and bought the fabrics. Most of the yellow and gray fabrics are from a Laura Ashley collection.

I quilted it with the Filigree pantograph pattern I made. I LOVE IT!

Meandering Thoughts "Water Lily Park" Quilt for Tamia

I'm a planner - I like to plan well in advance so I know what I'm doing. We have a rotation for who we give to at Christmas in our family (brothers, sisters, parents).  It make it easier to plan and we don't have to get together for a drawing. Back in the fall of 2017, I knew I would be giving to my sister Tamia for Christmas in 2 years and was deciding what I would do when I saw a quilt kit that screamed Tamia's name. I remember as a kid seeing DaVinci's Starry Night on her bedroom wall and I know she likes Monet. To top it off, her house is decorated with many pictures of nature scenes. I've never bought a quilt kit before, always enjoying the journey of designing something unique, but this was a must! 

I made the top in January 2019 and knew how I was going to quilt it - just waiting for my longarm. Then, the Christmas rotation was revised in October 2019 and I would no longer be giving to Tamia. I was frustrated to say the least, but I guess the good thing was that the fact that her present would be late (I was getting my longarm in January 2020) would no longer be a problem.  I debated what to do, but to wait until the next time I had her name would would be another 10 or more years. I ended up giving it to her in the summer. 

The kit is entitled "Water Lily Park" by Daphne Greig with Patchwork Studios featuring Northcott’s Artisan Spirit Water Garden fabric. I did use leftover fabric to increase the size. Then I custom quilted it following the picture in the center. In the outer part, I put swirly in the sky, circles (her favorite shape) in the greenery, and watery swirls in the blue.

Arabian Flow Quilt for Wanda

In my family, we have a rotation in place to give to each other for Christmas. I had made a quilt top for my sister, Tamia as a Christmas (2019) present, but then some revision in the rotation needed to be made and all of a sudden, (in October), I was no longer going to be giving to her, but to Wanda.  Wanda knew I was stressed because I had already invested time and money into Tamia's quilt and said I didn't have to get her anything.  I relaxed for a few weeks, but then decided I really wanted to give to Wanda! She is so kind and thoughtful. I talked with her daughter to decide pattern and color and made the quilt top before Christmas. 

Since she wasn't expecting anything that year, I figured I'd surprise her at the Family Reunion in the summer (2020) with her Christmas present. That would give me enough time after getting the longarm (in January) to learn to get good enough to quilt this. I thought a lot about how I was going to quilt it and had what I thought was a really good plan, but when I started it, I didn't like it. I think if the shapes were smaller, my plan would have been great, but with the large shapes, the quilting looked awkward. I unpicked what I had done, and went back to the drawing board. Then it hit me.

Many long years ago, I saw a beautiful jacquard fabric on some chairs. Every time I would go to that building, I would stare at the fabric and try to commit it to memory - it would make a lovely pantograph once I had a longarm. Then around Christmas 2016, a friend who worked at that building told me they had gotten new chairs that were so pretty. I was aghast. What had happened to those other chairs? They were long gone. I told her how much I loved the fabric. She did some investigating and a swatch was found which she handed to me on my birthday 2017. As I contemplated what to do on Wanda's quilt, it hit me that this was the answer. I spent the next week making this pattern.

I quilted it with a rainbow thread (Lolli by So Fine) on the front and a gray Bottom Line on the back. I love it! I got it all quilted just before the reunion (which was pretty low-key and few were there), but thanks to Covid, she didn't come.  I still have it ready to give to her, hopefully this summer. Yes, I thought about mailing it, but I'd like to be there to see it opened. So there's the story. She still doesn't know about it, unless of course she reads my blog, then the cat's out of the bag.  ;-)

Twin Baby Quilts

 

Twins. The same only different. These quilts I worked on simultaneously. Both have the same fabrics in the same pattern, but not in the same place.

 

Both use the same fabric for the backing. But the binding is different.

Both have similar free-motion quilting in every other strip with echoed lines in the alternating strip. But each free-motion strip is unique - in both quilts, giving me plenty of opportunity to practice.

I plan to donate these to the same women's shelter that I am giving my other charity quilts.

Katie's Quilt

Another quilt commissioned by my sister-in-law, Jenny. This one for my niece. For Katie, Jenny knew exactly what she wanted. She had found a pattern on-line from Annie's Catalog called "Have a Heart." This "scrappy" heart incorporates a wide variety of colors, patterns, and styles to reflect the creative nature of the girl. 

As I put this together, I knew what pantograph pattern it needed. Andi's Ribbon Heart from Urban Elementz added just the right poof of hearts and texture to the quilt.

 The final touch was the scrappy border, bringing back the fabrics from the center to the edge. I was amazed how much I liked this since I tend to gravitate towards geometric and symmetric designs.

Zach's Quilt

I'm forever grateful to my SIL Jenny for commissioning, not just one, but 3 quilts to get me on my way. This was commissioned for my nephew, a young man who would not appreciate anything remotely "girly." As Jenny and I talked about what he might like, a quilt I saw on the cover of the 2016 Quiltcon Magazine popped into my head. It is a pattern by Yvonne Fuchs and though I had to make some alterations in the pattern to make it the size I needed and to use the fabric I had on hand (this was during the first part of the Covid pandemic and it had become difficult to find specific fabrics). 

Straight line quilting with MonoPoly thread allows for the texture to show without the thread.

Quilt for Rachael and Al

There are a few people that made getting a longarm a reality. I can't think of any better way to say thank you than a quilt. Rachael is one of them. She is a dear friend who entrusted her youngest two boys to me while she worked. I love those crazy boys. Being frequently in her home made me privy to her likes in decorating. 

For some reason, it seems that when I take a picture of a blue and white quilt outside in the shade, the bright white tones down to a cool blue. This is bright white and 4 blue fabrics.

Custom quilting. There are 15 different flowery patterns in the large octagons and 15 different patterns in the smaller squares. The border is a "piano keys" but with double lines between the keys. You can also see the added element of the daisy-esque hexagon and pentagons. For my 21st quilt, I'm pretty proud of this quilt.