Threads of Mine

Lois' Pink and Green Half-Square Triangles

2013-05-21T19:30:00.000-04:00

Lois made this sweet lap quilt and I loaded it and quilted it after we got home yesterday.

I used a new panto, Imperial Butterfly, Hobbs 80/20 batting and Omni cream thread. It's not really new, I just think that I've never used it before. I received a roll of Fairfield 70/30 batting last week, si I will give that batting a try in the next couple of weeks.

Here's a couple close-ups of the quilting design.

Tennessee Weekend

2013-05-21T16:18:00.001-04:00

We drove to Tennessee this past weekend to visit Dan's son, Kale and his wife Lynn. They bought a house and we were their first overnight guests.

We worked in the yard all day Sunday. Lynn and I pulled weeds from the front and side of the house.

Dan and Kale took care of the mowing. Their yard is a little under an acre, so there's lots of mowing in the front.

Not so much in the back as you can see a bit of the backyard here. They are planning to terrace the back into a garden area. That will be a lot of work.

I don't drink much anymore and more than a glass of wine makes me a bit loopy, as you can see here. No operating machinery for me!

Rosemary's Black and White with a Splash of Lime

2013-05-16T19:00:00.000-04:00

Here is the last of Rosemary's quilts. Again, I just love what she has done with these fabrics. It's just my style!

On Facebook, I called it Lime-a-rita. I guess because I've been seeing those new drinks I want to try with that name.

I used Button Flower panto as I though it worked well with the oh-so cute fabrics. Hobbs 80/20 batting and Omni Cream thread.

The back is a batik. Love the sun shining through!

Carla's Baby Dresses Quilt

2013-05-16T15:02:00.000-04:00

Carla made another one of these adorable baby quilts. I just love this panel.

The added cornerstones of purses is just too cute!

I quilted a small meander in the background of the blocks and in the area outside of the rick-rack of the print, leaving the rick-rack and the dresses without any quilting.

Freehand flowers and leaves in the outer borders.

Hobbs 80/20 batting and Omni Cream thread.

Sudoku Quilts For Kids

2013-05-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Out Quilts For Kids Chapter held a Sew 'n Meet last Saturday and I taught the group how to make a Sudoku Quilt. Some quilters finished theirs and some took them home to complete.

Here is my sample, which has 5" squares.

I wanted a very neutral lap quilt. I used fat quarters and the remaining fabrics will be pieced together to add a 6-8" border.

This one was my demo quilt and I had a block partially assembled to show each step. These squares were 4", so I added an additional border. I finished assembling this at home Saturday evening.

This one I made with a kit of 4.5" squares that Cathy had precut. It's all batiks and I like it very much.

The Quilts For Kids quilts that are made through this group are taken to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis once a month. The size is 40-45" square. They try to make them small enough to fit on the width of fabric, so the backing doesn't need to be pieced.

An Antique Quilt

2013-05-13T18:30:00.000-04:00

Chris and her mom, Julie brought me this quilt top. It was made by Julie's mother, probably 50-70 years ago. Of course it was hand pieced and the fabrics look to be quite worn. Julie wanted to have it quilted to give to her granddaughter as a wedding gift. It was a rush job as the only chance to get it to the happy couple was this week, otherwise it would need to be shipped overseas.

I quilted a simple meander and varied the size based on the fullness of an area. You can see how the size changes here. I don't think it will be as noticeable after it's washed, and expect it will crinkle nicely.

Easing in some of that fullness!

Ta-da! The backing is just muslin, as is the binding, which I put on last week.

Lois' 1600 Quilt, Thread and Bobbins!

2013-05-13T15:14:00.001-04:00

Now, here is a 1600 quilt that I really like. I'm not sure if she used a jelly roll or just put the fabrics together herself. Either way, it's a striking 1600 quilt.

I used a new panto that I picked up in Cincinnati called Becker's Ferns. I think it works well for this quilt. I used PermaCore Bambi thread.

Speaking of thread.....

I am slowly but surely using up my PermaCore thread. It's what came with Mabel and I have had wonderful results with it. When Superior Threads came out with Omni, I tried it and had great results with it also. Maybe just a bit better than the PermaCore and it's a little cheaper.

I usually try to check my stitches within the first few minutes of starting a quilt, but sometimes I just get to focused on the quilt and forget until I do that first advance. 95% of the time the stitches are perfect. The 5% that it isn't, It's usually something minor to fix. I have determined that the black bobbins that you can buy for around $1 each aren't exactly the same thickness as the $3 bronze ones. The black ones cause me to have random flat lines with my top thread. It took me quite a while to figure out the problem, but Dan measured the bobbins with a micrometer and that's what the problem seems to be.

A Baby Quilt for Ryan

2013-05-11T18:30:00.000-04:00

Ryan worded at The National Group last summer as an intern. She is expecting her first baby in a month or so and did a lot of research online t find just the right quilt. They didn't find out the sex of the baby, so she wanted neutral colors.

She found one on Etsy that she really liked and we went shopping at Joann's a few months ago to purchase some similar fabrics. I put the top together at Spring Break Retreat and then put it aside. I knew they were moving to Michigan in may, so my goal was to have it finished by then.

Margaret and I met Ryan at Little Mexico a couple weeks ago for dinner and here is Ryan with her quilt.

I used some of the leftover fabrics to make some burp cloths to match.

Rosemary's Brown Batiks

2013-05-11T06:30:00.000-04:00

Here's another beautiful quilt made by Rosemary. She has been a busy quilter this spring. Actually, I've had these quilts for a while, so she probably had a busy winter! I'm not sure why this photo is so blurry. I'll try to remember to take another.

I chose Becker's Ferns for this one also and used PermaCore Bambi thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Aren't these fabrics just yummy!

A look at the back, where you can see more of the quilting design:

Levi's T-Shirt Quilt

2013-05-10T20:00:00.000-04:00

I got a call a few months ago from a dad asking about quilting a t-shirt quilt that had been made for his son who is graduating this month. We worked out the details over the phone and he brought the quilt to me in April.

It was such a pleasure working with Walt and Becky. They brought the quilt, the backing, which was a very soft cotton sheet, and the batting, all in a rubbermaid tote. We decided on meandering with a gray/silver thread Onmi thread and the batting is cotton.

I finished it last week and he picked it up on Monday. Whoever put this one together did and EXCELLENT job. It layed perfectly flat and the layout is just stunning! How cute is this block?

I put the binding on and added a hanging sleeve for them.

Rosemary's Pinwheels

2013-05-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

This quilt is just CUTE! I love the pinwheels that the flying geese make, love the fabrics and it is a simple design, but very effective.

She chose Baptist Fan as the quilting design and says she may have a new favorite quilting design. Which is good news to me, as I love my Circle Lord Baptist Fan templates!

Rosemary's Blue Squares

2013-05-10T11:42:00.002-04:00

Here is the second quilt that Rosemary made that I quilted it with Baptist Fans.

I usually think of using Baptist fans on older quilts, the ones that have a vintage feel, but I love how it looks on these modern quilts and even batiks!

OK, I think I may be caught up with blog posts for a day or so. I have a bunch scheduled, so we'll see if it works.

Carole's Nursing Quilt

2013-05-10T11:02:00.002-04:00

When Carole arrived in Lafayette a few weeks ago on her way to Paducah, she dropped off a quilt that she really wanted to take back to Maryland with her less than a week later. I have lots of quilts waiting, but I was able to work her quilt in and took it to her at Janet.s the night before they left.

I must say that I have never quilted a quilt that had plastic tubing on it before!

Or a stuffed felt heart!

There are some very creative and pretty blocks in this quilt made by nurses. It will be on display at her local hospital.

The quilting is just SID and a meander in the red border fabrics. I quilted around some of the center designs even though she said the blocks didn't need any quilting. I thought it should have some since the blocks were so large.

GUA Conference

2013-04-25T06:25:00.001-04:00

No quilting this week!

Carole's Chinese Coins

2013-04-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

Carole is coming through town next week on her way to Paducah, the lucky dog! She made this quilt to give to the person who's house they are staying at. It sounds like a win-win situation to me. They get homey accommodations and the homeowner gets a quilt.

She said to make it pretty, so that's what I tried to do. Diagonal crosshatching in the coins, bumpy feathers in the sashing and big border and a feather swirl in the outer border.

The back looks pretty good too!

Lisa's T-Shirt Quilt

2013-04-19T15:38:00.004-04:00

Lisa made this cute t-shirt quilt at Spring Quilt camp and I'm just amazed at how she makes all those different shapes come together to a great quilt.

In Cincinnati, I purchased a couple new pantos and for this quilt I used Bauhaus Baby. I thought it was a good fit with all the squares and straight lines. I chose Sunlight PermaCore Thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Love the yellow thread on the back too!

Speaking of t-shirt quilts, this week the Common Threads Quilt Guild was treated to a program on t-shirt quilts by Caryl Schuetz of Indianapolis. She gave a powerpoint presentation and showed lots of cute t-shirt quilts. We are fortunate to have such a great speaker just an hour away from us. Thanks for a great program Caryl!

Carol's Hobo Quilt

2013-04-18T17:30:00.000-04:00

This quilt that Carol brought is a group quilt. They are presenting it to a supporting church group and I believe they call themselves the Hobo Club.

The pattern is from Hobo Quilts by Debra G Henninger. The design on each boxcar is a symbol used to share information among hobos, much like the Underground railroad quilts. It is very interesting and I didn't know the significance of the blocks until I started to write this post. This blog explains it.

I quilted a meander in the background, those double wavy lines in the narrow border, e's and o's in the outer border, swirls in the wheels, SID and straight vertical lines on the cars themselves.

3 threads, cream, tan and black, all Omni and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Quiltmaker Blog

2013-04-18T14:29:00.002-04:00

Check out the Quilty Pleasures blog today! I wrote a guest post about Pieced Hexies after our guild workshop and program by Mickey Depre.

Dawn's Applique Quilt

2013-04-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

When new customer Dawn brought me this quilt, she said that she wanted an allover quilting design. I said, "over the applique, too?" She said, "Yes."

Easy-peasy for me! But when I actually got around to loading it on Mabel, I gave her a call just to be sure. She had changed her mind, so, I'm glad I called.

The quilting isn't too intense, just a meander in the main areas, two wavy lines in the narrow border (This is my new favorite quilting, as you will see later that I have used it again), and wavy line on the stems and flowers, and veins on the leaves.

I used the same thread throughout, Lava Bambi and cotton batting that she brought.

I would say that the majority of the quilts that I quilt have at least one fabric that I have in my stash. This one is the exception, I don't think I own or have owned a single fabric in this quilt.

Kim's Bright Squares

2013-04-17T17:30:00.000-04:00

One of Kim's friends made this delightful quilt. It's for a grandchild who is moving into a big bed! I think she made curtains to match.

Just a meander with Lava thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting. The backing was minkee and it had a couple of seams. I wasn't sure how that would work out, but it did just fine.

Sharon's Swoon

2013-04-17T09:45:00.001-04:00

This beautiful quilt made by Sharon had me sitting and staring for along time. I searched high and low on Google for some ideas and finally settled on some of the quilting designs from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple.

I quilted continuous curves and straight lines like she did, but did a curvy feather meander in the background.

I had a bit of an issue at the beginning. I'm not sure how, but the thread jumped out of the tension disk. It looked beautiful on top, but the back looked like this:

So, some stitching had to come out and be re-stitched.
Hope she likes it.

Paper Piecing, Row-By-Row and Doll Clothes

2013-04-03T10:03:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday I led a group of quilters in Frankfort at L&S Fish Sew-N-Vac in their first adventure in paper piecing. Paper piecing is one of those things that you either LOVE or HATE. Of the 6 that were there only one HATED it. So much so that she left after 15 minutes. Made me feel really bad :(

Here is my project, ready for quilting. I think I will buy a hanger from Ackfield Wire to display it. If you haven't checked out their quilt hangers, you should do it now. They have great products!

The other 5 quilters finished the top of their piece and had every intention of taking it home to finish the rest of it. The block is Desert Lily by Caroline Reardon, Block #248 from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 3.

Last weekend I worked on Judy's Row-By-Row and I am happy with the result. We each picked a block to use and mine is a double square-in-a-square. The blocks are 8" and the sashing strips finish just shy of 1.375. Here are all three of her rows so far and mine is on the left. She asked for the yellow to be used as a background.

And last but not least, a set of PJ's for Liz's American Girl doll, Julie. I intended to do these for her birthday but they got buried in the sewing room. I'll probably keep them for a while as she doesn't play with Julie as much as she does Lily. You may remember that Lily got some clothes for Christmas last year.

That's what has been keeping me busy lately, when I'm not quilting with Mabel.

Sue's 2nd Batik Quilt

2013-04-03T09:27:00.000-04:00

I think this quilt is made using the same blocks as this one. The arrangement is just different. As I was quilting it, I thought it looked a bit jumbled. Being a graphic designer, I like everything neat and aligned, but now that it's finished and I see the whole thing, I rather like it.

I used Lava Tiki thread and love how it looks. I don't use much Lave, but a friend used some on a quilt and showed a picture on Facebook the other day. It was a light bulb moment for me as I had just loaded this quilt.

She provided the batting and the panto is Whirligig. Some more close-ups of the thread:

Cathy's Blue and Brown

2013-03-29T09:49:00.002-04:00

Last summer, Jeni and I made a quilt for our 40th class reunion. I think Jeni has 5 or 6 sisters and I don't know how many of them are quilters, but her mom and her aunt are quilters also. One of her sisters, Cathy, made this quilt and I believe it's her very first bed quilt. She was so excited to have it quilted.

Angel Wings Begonia is the panto, Scarab Permacore thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.
The colors aren't true in the first and last photos, but it is just lovely. The aqua/blue and brown are so pretty together.

Here's the back:

Bloglovin

2013-03-26T16:29:00.001-04:00

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I guess that Google Reader is closing down and like lots of other blogs I follow, I have claimed my blog on bloglovin. Don't know much about it yet, but I can learn.