Twister Baby Quilt in Pink and Blue Florals

This quilt top I made close to 11 years ago after watching a YouTube video about the Twister Quilt Ruler. I didn't have the ruler, so I figured out how to put lines on my ruler with painters tape to the same effect. I think I also followed another tutorial about putting on borders without measuring which was easier, but left me with very wavy borders which I had to then fix with quilting. (Thus the extra detail in the borders which help straighten that out.) Sometimes shortcuts are not shorter in the end.

 

I quilted with a light blue So Fine on the top and Bottom Line thread on the back. In the center area, I used a grid quilting method where I could bring out the twist of the design but not have to stop and break thread. It looks cool on the front and the back. In fact, I think it looks like two different designs.

Red and White Scrappy Squares, Brick Wall with Feather Quilting

Made with some pre-cut squares a sister gave me, this baby quilt gave me the opportunity to practice my feathers.

 

I used Glide and Glide 60 threads in Cream and just freehanded the bump-back feathers.

You can see the feathers better on the back. This one sold quickly.

Fourth of Five Plush Animal Quilts - Twin

Using border fabric and a matching print, I made this simple quilt to practice different types of quilting.

 

Using Glide and Glide 60 cream thread, I did ruler and freehand intricate work in the borders. In the border print, I outlined and subtly detailed the animals with echoes around it. The cursive writing is traced with wavy lines in the butterfly print.

On the printed fabric, I tried out Angela Walter's Paisley Feather free-motion quilting design.

The back makes it easier to see it all. This probably took about 16 hours (give or take - I didn't sit there with a stopwatch) to quilt.

Third of Five Plush Animal Design Quilts for Enoch

Quilt commissioned for my great-nephew. I made the quilt top a long time ago, but as far as I can tell, this quilt pattern is called "BQ" by Maple Island Quilts. Quilted with my Forever Filigree pantograph that I designed, using Glide and Glide 60 Cream thread.

 

I had planned to use this as another practice quilt, but my sister asked about buying a quilt, so I showed her what I had already done. When she picked the first one I did like this, I told her I had two, almost identical to the first, one with the green block. the other with brown. I was pretty sure she'd like the green, which she did. So she got to choose the way I quilted it. 

I was hoping the back would show the quilting, but with it being so busy, the quilting is hard to see. It turned out really well.

Scrap Rainbow, Hexagons, Quilted, Insulated, Reversible Table Runner

This has been a long time in the making. I began on our band trip to France in March 2018 as some hand sewing I could do on the plane. Then it was something I took to do in doctor and dentist waiting rooms. Finally, I determined to finish it this year.

The hexagon are hand-sewn together (I try to avoid hand sewing when possible, but sometimes, it's good to remind myself why I don't like it - haha). I used So-Fine and Bottom Line threads in gray and custom quilted using Natalia Bohner's mini 4-n-1 ruler in a continuous-line, grid-quilting way. I was surprised at how difficult it was to quilt through the double layer of Insul-Bright. Next time I’ll try a different combo.

It’s reversible with a double layer of Insul-Bright. Why? Because it is also the hot-pads when I put a hot pan/casserole on the table. And I don’t have to constantly be sliding a hot pad or trivet under things as they are passed around the table - just keep it on the runner and we’ll all be happy.

 I may need to explain the tablecloth. It’s what we put out when we have guests over. We have them sign and date with fabric markers. It’s fun to look back and see who came over back when. We’ve been doing this for 11 years. I got the idea from my mother who had a signature tablecloth.

When I laid it out to take pictures, Fiona asked if the back was all one piece. No. It’s pieced twice. She searched for the seams and when she found them said, “Dang, Mom!” in a suitably-impressed voice. What a nice compliment!

Yellow/Green/Blue Around the World with Many Borders Quilt

I just made this quilt to practice my quilting on.  It will either be sold or go to charity. The squares in the center were from some pre-cuts given to me by my sister. I had planned to make a baby quilt, but after making that part, thought a twin size quilt would be more useful to a wider variety of people, so I looked in my stash to find coordinating colors. Aside from the blue (and the green on the back), they were pieces between 7" and probably 18". I had to do some math to figure out how to make the biggest borders possible with each cut of fabric - how many strips would I need to go around the quilt at that point, how big would the quilt be at each border, etc? 

The borders were opportunities to try out many different types of borders. The inside (Around the World layout) I practiced a free-motion, continuous-line grid quilting.

It turned out great. With the patterned fabric on the front it's not as easy to see some of the quilting, but when you look at the back, especially on the blue, it pops. I did way too much work on areas that can't be seen, but then again, the point was to practice, so it wasn't a total waste of time. I learned some things.

Whole Cloth Quilt to Showcase Baroque Filigree

A dear friend of ours has gratuitously helped us out many times in his area of expertise over the past 20 years of our friendship. Last month he again came to our rescue. As he was helping my husband, I sat at their kitchen table wondering what we could do for them.  A quilt! As I looked around at their color scheme, well, white seemed to be the overall best accent for their living room.

Using my newly designed Baroque Filigree pantograph and using some variegated thread on the top and white on the back and some very poofy poly batting, I made a throw quilt for them as a thank you gift.

 

Lisa's Charley Harper Quilt for her Camper

Beautiful quilt made by my friend, Lisa, for the bed in her camper "Ch@arley."

 

She let me quilt it with the new pantograph I just designed called "Baroque Filigree" which is stunning on her quilt. The flow-y swirls give the illusion of the birds flying through the air.

On the back of the quilt you can see the quilting better. Top thread is Glide Cleopatra which looks like gold metallic. Bottom thread is Glide 60 Military Gold.

Sterling's Eagle Quilt

The second Eagle Scout quilt I made. This one was for my son Sterling. Quilting is very similar to the one I did for Donovan except the cross-hatching is diamond shaped rather than squares on point.

Adding a quilt label is a must. If you would like to see the tutorial of how I made Sterling's and Donovan's Eagle Scout quilts, go here. If you would like to see Donovan's quilt, go here.