Emerald's Two Toned Rainbow Diamond HST Quilt

Another quilt top made by Emerald, commissioned by Natasha and quilted by me using a medium gray thread on top and dark gray on the back. The pantograph I used was one I bought specifically for this quilt called, "Diamonds are Forever" by Urban Elementz. Batting is 100% polyester which gives a lot of loft. This design is one that a couple of my kids say I should duplicate for a grandchild quilt.

 

Emerald's Yellow 4-pointed Stars on Navy Blue Sky Quilt

A quilt my sister, Emerald, made. I quilted it with dark gray thread on front and back. 

 

The pantograph I used was bought specifically for this quilt. "Jessica's Twinkle" by Urban Elementz was a perfect match for these 4-pointed stars. Batting in 100% polyester which gives a lot of loft.

How I Make a Quilt Label - Tutorial

I was asked how I made a quilt label, so this is what I do. I don't have an inkjet printer, nor does my sewing machine have a fancy stitch that works well, so I'm just doing it the way I can. Here it is.

I start by printing what I want to put on the label on regular paper. Most important things to include would be the maker, the quilter, where, when, and any important information that generations later would want to know. You could name the quilt, add who commissioned it and why. I'm showing the minimum.

I then, using a light table or taping it to a window, place some white or muslin fabric over and trace my words carefully using fabric markers.

I then trim, leaving a minimum of 1/2" on all sides. With 1/4" seam allowance, that leaves 1/4" around the lettering.

I then iron the seam allowances. There are two ways I use regularly. 

One is to iron all 4 sides, like the one on the far left and the one I'm currently ironing and then sew on the back of the quilt. The other way is to iron only the top and right side of the label as I did in the top and middle label shown below.

Then, before the binding is sewn on, pin the label on the bottom left-hand side of the back. This is the same as the back of the bottom right-hand side of the front. (Sounds more confusing than it is).

I then hand stitch the ironed edges (top and right) using a ladder or invisible stitch. A whip stitch could work, too, if you're not comfortable with the other.

The invisible/ladder stitch is done by taking a small stitch on one fabric (above) and then a small stitch on the other fabric, right on the fold as shown below. Make sure you just go through the backing fabric since you don't want the stitch to show on the front.

Repeat until all sewn. Bind as usual. My preference (as shown below) is to sew my binding to the back first, then fold over to the front and do a top stitch close to the folded edge.

And it's done with less hand sewing.

Lola's Green/Blue/Purple Scrap Quilt for Refugees

This is another quilt top Lola made to provide warmth for the refugees. I quilted it with a large meandering ribbon pattern, though maybe I should have made the meander a little smaller and closer together to account for and take up the excessive fullness on the two borders.

I used a bright green (Irish Spring) Glide and Glide 60 thread on top and bottom.

The back and binding are scrappy.

Pat's T-shirts and More Memory Quilts

After the passing of Pat's husband, her friend, Sue, offered to make quilts for her (Pat's) 3 children from the plethora of t-shirts he wore.

I was asked to quilt them in a way that would not detract from the shirts. I used a large over-all meander in the clear MonoPoly thread on top, with Pacific Blue Glide 60 thread on the bottom.

Lola's Pink Purple Blue Green Scrap Quilt for Refugees

This scrappy quilt top was made by my sister, Lola who wanted to help the refugees as well.

I did a freehand (free-motion) quilt design on this using a lavender Glide Thread on top and a light gray Glide 60 on the bottom.

The binding was a scrappy binding using the leftover back fabric. The finished top (above) and the finished back (below).

Quilt Made from the Leftovers from Keith's Quilts

These quilt tops were made from the leftover scraps from my first grandson's baby and queen/king size quilts. The baby quilt you can find here. And the king size you can see here. These will be saved for another grandchild.

Somehow whenever I take pictures of white quilts outside, they end up looking light blue, and if I take the pictures inside, they look yellow, so here's inside and outside shots so hopefully you can figure out what the actual colors are. ;-)

Dorothy's Halloween/Fall/Autumn Orange, Black, Brown Quilt

Another quilt made by Dorothy. She wanted some nice fall leaves as a quilting pattern. I chose Military Gold Glide and Glide 60 thread and the pantograph "Fall Foliage" from Urban Elementz. Because the size of the leaves in this pantograph are rather small, I enlarged it to a size that is easier to quilt without robotics/computer assist.

I like the leaves, but after quilting one row, I decided I really wanted the leaves to go multiple directions. With a dry erase marker, I traced the pantograph onto the plastic cover, then flipped the pantograph (see picture below).

Time consuming, but I liked the effect. As always, Dorothy always uses her leftover fabric to make a scrappy back.

And the finished quilt, sans binding.

Emerald's Moon and Stars in Pastels Charity Quilt

This is a quilt Emerald made for a charity auction with Natasha's work.

 

The pieced stars and appliquéd moons wanted a simple quilting design.

I did a loop meander with some stars thrown in for good measure, quilted with white thread.

Purple, Green, Red, Flowers and Butterflies Charity Quilt for Thimble and Thread

Another charity quilt for the Thimble and Thread Quilt Guild. I quilted it using light tan thread on the front and Mocha on the back in my "Beautiful Butterfly" pantograph, having added some from the first time I used it. 

I'm really loving this panto I designed. But again, I found something to tweak in the pantograph, but I think the next time I use it I will be fully satisfied.