Alternating Motifs {Machine Quilting}

 This colorful quilt alternates blocks between and plain block and a quarter square triangle block.

 I quilted a feather wreath in the quarter square triangle blocks....

and this motif that I thought matched the design of the fabrics, in the solid blocks.  I quilted loosely over the design twice, so the quilting would be a little more prominent.

Another Saturday Sampler {Machine Quilting}

 I was lucky enough to have another customer send me a Saturday Sampler to quilt. I did this one slightly different, so I thought I would post some detail photos.

 I really like how the straight lines behind the pinwheels turned out!

 I had nearly forgotten about the rosette fill in the hexagon block. It is one of my favorites.

I love the loops and scallops in this photo.

Valentines Quilting 2013

I have been working on a few valentine's quilts for customers the last few weeks. Here are some snippets:

 This one is my favorite! I love those striped hearts with ric rac! It wasn't until later that I learned these fabrics were designed my the mom to one of my best childhood friends!

The collections is Sending My Love, by Marie Cole for Henry Glass.

Baby B {Machine Quilting}

 (This photo is stubborn! I keep rotating, it but it flips back. So sorry.)
Do you like Monograms? They are classic if you ask me. This quilt provided some great spaces for quilting designs! Once again, the day was cloudy, so the stitching is hard to see in the photos. I had fun quilting different designs in the rectangular blocks behind the "B." I did some cute spirals in the white behind the B.

I alternated quilting designs on the on point blocks. The rows switch between a Greek key variation and figure 8's.

I think this quilt would be perfect for a toddler who is learning his letters, and how to spell his name!

Red Hexagon Blossoms {Machine Quilting}

Have you tried machine piecing Hexagons? I haven't but after quilting this quilt, I really want to give it a try.

This is another quilt that I really enjoyed doing. I repeated the same figure eight motif in each background hexagon. I just alternated the direction of the motif. It is difficult to see, but I quilted clamshells in all around the white flower center. It gives the flower kind of a zinnia feel.

I must have photographed this on a cloudy day, because there are no shadows to emphasize the quilting. Kind of a bummer, but the quilt is cute enough to stand on it's own, don't you think?

Last Minute Christmas Quilt {Machine Quilting}

***I know that my photography skills are lacking, but even worse is the wet winter weather that limits me to my living room for photos. My apologies!

 Carrie at Gracie Lou's sent me this last minute Christmas quilt.  There is so much about it that I love. It has lots of features that make it fun for a quilter to quilt!  I quilted simple clamshells on the tree. I like the texture it creates! I decided to go for a star on the ornaments for an unexpected detail.

 Of course quilters love some solid areas to go crazy with!  I love how this red background looks!

I quilted ribbons in the background blocks. So easy, and just the right amount of quilting.

Most of the time I get Christmas quilts in the summer, so it was nice to do one so close to the holidays!

Stacked Coins for Baby Girl (Machine Quilting)

 I went digging through my archives this morning and decided to show this simple stacked coin baby quilt that I did in the spring.

I chose a floral and leaf design for the white border and sash, alternating flowers just for fun.  In the pieced section, I did my favorite figure eight design, and went over it twice for a little more depth.

Curious Nature Bullseye {Machine Quilting}

 Carrie from Gracie Lou's sent me this fabulous bullseye quilt.  The super awesome thing is that you can download this pattern for FREE on the Free Spirit website!

 Do you recognize the fabric?  It's Curious Nature by Parson Gray (David Bulter as in Amy Butler.)
For the quilting, I alternated different background fills in each section.  I really love how it turned out!

Here is a shot of the back, so you can get a good look at the quilting.

Mom's New Bedspread {Machine Quilting}

 I just finished up this big project for my mom. It's a new quilt for her bed! Scrap quilts are some of my favorites. I love the unexpected mix of colors and prints. For this quilt, I chose a simple wavy line stripe for the large white border. I think it will look great hanging off the edge of the bed. In the white centers I did a flower, and in the nine patch blocks, continuous curves. This quilt was really big...and it took me the better part of a week to finish. Thanks Mom, for patiently waiting your turn.

Another thing that I tried on this quilt, was attaching binding with my longarm. I will definitely be doing this on all of my own quilts, and will soon be adding it to my list of services. Let me know if you are interested. I watched you tube videos here, here, and here to figure it out.

Reunion 4 Patch {Machine Quilting}

 Here is a lovely little quilt for husband's cousin's wife, Barb.  She is just getting into quilting and did a fabulous job with this quilt!  She used a charm pack of Reunion by Sweetwater for Moda.

 I took inspiration for quilting from the fabric, as I usually do. I did a four petal flower similar to the ones you see in the yellow print above. I chose a spiral for the sashing. It is a simple design to do, and I knew it would look great on the solid fabric.

I love this design on the border. It is very versatile so I find myself using it a lot. This time I did a slightly thinner version than I usually do, which I like even better.

Owl on a Limb {Machine Quilting}

 I know owls have been around forever, but I still think they are cute as can be.  It's the big eyes, I think.  These cuties are all topstitched on (by the piecer, not me.) I love the look of the top stitching.

It was requested that I quilt this similar to the shop sample at Gracie's, which I did not quilt.  It gave me a chance to try some new things.  I did do some of my own adaptations, as the quilt at Gracie's was for a girl, and this one for a boy.  No flowers, of course.

Black Sashing {Machine Quilting}

When I first started quilting, I did not like feathers.  You heard me right.  They reminded me too much of cheesy hearts.  Of course they have grown on me, and after quilting for eight years, I finally started to try some variations.  On this quilt I threw in a little spiral vine every now and then.  It was easy, and made the feathers look special.

I love a simple quilt like this.  It is a perfect way to showcase fabrics that you really love.  The quilting in the blocks is difficult to see in the photo.  I did a variety of simple background fills from stripes to loops and spirals.  

Pie to Go {Machine Quilting}

Have you heard of Pie Plate patterns?  I quilted one just like this about a year ago. Can you guess what makes this quilt different than you might expect?  All of those small pieces are glued on - not sewn.  So, if you don't particularly like to sew, then maybe you like to glue?

The fun (or not so fun) part of quilting this quilt is the fact that I have to stop at the beginning of every new square of fabric and flatten it out under the quilting machine foot, so as not to catch it.  What a great way to practice my patience!  In the end it is worth it because the quilt turns out adorable!

Floral Table Topper {Machine Quilting}

 One of my quilting is goals is to create new spaces and designs by breaking up existing spaces.  My mom pieced this adorable table topper, and it was a perfect project to practice on.

The negative space easily divided into diamond shapes.  I filled them with a simple flower, similar to the ones in the fabric.  I can't wait to see this one displayed at Gracie Lou's and then later at my mom's house!

8 Point Star with Sash {Machine Quilting}

It is pouring rain outside.  The puttering of rain, and rolling of thunder give me the sewing itch!  After I write this post, I will be working on something fun for myself, which is a real treat!

I just sent off this 8 pointed star quilt yesterday.  I loved every minute of quilting it.  I love how this quilt took a classic 8 pointed star, and added some simple sashing, and strip pieced blocks to achieve a fresh design.

I wanted to incorporate the sashing into the background quilting of this quilt.  I chose these "kissing" circles.  They melted in nicely with the feather and swirl background quilting. I kept it simple in the patterned star blocks, by stitching in the ditch, and right down the center of each strip.

I also quilted horizontal lines in the border.  In the end I was left with another quilt that I wanted to keep for myself. (Sigh)

Crazy 9 Patch + My Favorite Flower {Machine Quilting}

I have yet to sew a crazy 9 patch block myself, but I really enjoyed quilting these ones for a customer.  I wanted to highlight the crazy blocks, so I did some outline quilting in those blocks.  In the plain blocks, I chose to quilt my favorite flower.  You get to do that when you are the quilter.  :)

Flower posts and sashing {Machine Quilting}

I just love how the post section of the sashing turned out on this quilt! I used my favorite quilting designs in the quilt: loops and spirals. They are easy to quilt but look plenty fancy.

Reunion Zig Zag {Machine Quilting}

Hooray for zig zag quilts. You know how I love them, right? Sweetwater, was kind enough to mix it up a little with these Isosceles triangles. I decided to mix up my traditional, follow along the zig zag quilting, with some extra details.
Love how it turned out!

Ruby and Diamonds {Machine Quilting}

Some of my favorite fabric lines come from Bonnie and Camille. Ruby is no exception. I was thrilled to get two quilts to do from the line in the same month. The one pictured above has an all over feather meander per customer request.

This drunkards path was done by one of my favorite quilters to work for. She put a lot of work into this one, and wanted it to be special. I quilted feather variations in the background fabric with a basic stipple in the rest.

Nine Patch Meets Raw Edge Flower {Machine Quilting)

Quilting designs for a nine patch are endless. How do you decide? I knew for this quilt that I wanted a tight background fill in the flower blocks, so I chose something quicker and looser to contrast in the nine patch. I chose to quilt over the design twice to give it more impact.This nine patch design comes from my early days. I learned it at a machine quilters guild meeting. They called it "clevage, clevage, smile." See if you can figure that one out. Ha Ha.