Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Winter vacation 2026 part 1

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So we did take a trip with winter…leaving the snow behind and journeyed back to Tucson with the motorhome at the end of February.

It’s was a fun filled active vacation! I made a point to scope out places to walk where ever we camped! The campground in Topeka was close to a wonderful bike/walking path that took us along the Reser’s Food plants. They were interesting to check out, however I have all but eliminated ultra processed foods from our diet…

I am really looking forward to having Costco open here as it was easy to continue my eating plan while travelling!

With that said…we did enjoy some pistachios and pistachio ice cream in Alamogordo!!!

The drive and rv parks along the way were great and I won’t lie having the warmth and sunshine was more than welcome!

We stayed at the same KOA in Tucson as last year. It is right along the Tucson Bike Loop and I could hardly wait to ride again! Having the same amazing grapefruit tree on our site of course was an additional benefit!

We rode almost every day each day adding additional miles to our ride each day after almost three weeks we were at 27 miles. We did come across a snake on the path happily it wasn’t interested in us!

One day when we were riding we came upon a group of women at what I call the watering station. They had birthday hat’s attached to their helmets and wore wings and birthday sashes! The gal that I spoke with said that they get together for birthdays and ride the miles of their birthday…she is 78! How fun is that! There were more than a dozen of them.

Tumamoc Hill was a great adventure, it was a 1.5 mile almost straight up walk the views were fantastic!

We also visited Kartchner Caverns, the tour and seeing the inside of the cave was absolutely amazing and breathtaking! There were no cameras allowed, but if you are interested in caves it is well worth looking into!

Afterwards we went on a hike in the same park, no one would ever guess that underground is such an incredible natural marvel!

We also walked a few miles every evening making it a very active for us vacation! We also spent many of the afternoons relaxing by the pool! The cool water was very welcome.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Fresco Feathers Quilt

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When my customer brought her quilts to me I had recently added some new quilting designs to my collection. We both agreed that Fresco Feathers (one of my new ones) would be a fun addition to this quilt!

Both the feathers and swirls play so well with the different fabrics in the quilt with a lovely density that will make this quilt so great for snuggling under! check out that pretty flannel backing.

Her quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Some Fun!!

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Some background to the story of this picture…after quilting their Bargello Quilt before my vacation and hearing a funny story that I shared my friends, Tim started referring to me as the Quilting Queen!

Tim and Donna came for a visit with this week with a gift!!! Thank you so much you two!!

I was told that I need a crown and now I have one! 💝

In some other news, I am currently piecing a quilt top from a kit for a customer. It’s a pre cut kit and so far so good and I will share my review on the kit as I progress. these blocks are trimmed to 14 1/2”.

I still am working slowly on my block studies course, though my customer quilting takes precedence.

My project Wendy as it’s come to be known, re my personal healthy living journey has been so successful and I am loving the energy that my choices have gifted my day to day life! More about that in a future post.

The quilt on my frame in the first picture will be finished today…what else is there to do on a rainy day than quilt 😊

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Quilting Side of Life Donna’s Selvage Quilt

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My year has been busy both in the studio and in my life away from it.

On the Quilting side, I do have many customer quilts to share and I will try to catch up in the coming weeks! I will also share more about our winter vacation and what a fun adventure it was.

I had so much fun working on Donna’s selvage quilt…

A selvage quilt is pieced using saved selvages from fabrics often saved from years of quilt making and often donated pieces from friends.

Donna shared these statistics with me…she used a total of 23,400 inches of selvage, that’s 1,950 feet that’s approx 1/3 of a mile. I weighed her quilt after quilting so it included the foundation fabric used for piecing the 100 percent cotton batting along with the batting and it weighed 13.5 pounds. She has since added the binding.

We, well mostly Donna’s husband Tim chose the quilting design Prism. The angles of the design are a fun contrast to the piecing stitches and looks fantastic on the back.

Her quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up…and she didn’t waste any time adding the binding!

She also shared this picture of the quilt on their King size bed (before binding)

Her quilt will be displayed at the quilt show in Dryden in you happen to find yourself at the show and you will very likely run into Donna and Tim there as well!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Haberdashery Sampler Quilt

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Just before we left for our winter vacation I had the pleasure of quilting an amazing Sampler Quilt!

Linda the quilts maker shared the information re the pattern for her quilt with me.

Her piecing is absolutely spectacular!

We chose the quilting design Wisteria Feather which added additional elegance to her amazing quilt!

When I choose a thread weight and colour for a quilt like this one, I want both to allow the piecing to shine and not detract from it.

Her beautiful quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!

How perfect is the backing fabric!!

Let me help you bring your quilting projects to completion!

Wendysquilting@gmail.com 807-251-4261

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Elephant Quilt

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This was such a fun quilt to work on!!

I had just received a new order of pantographs when it came in and both my customer and I agreed that the design Autumn Splendor Feather would be a wonderful choice!

As I have mentioned before, using my imagination to choose designs is a fun technique. I envisioned the elephant walking through the forest.

This design added another layer to the quilt and of course was really showcased in the negative space to background in the quilt.

The backing fabric was a fantastic splash of colour complementing the quilt top.

The quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Special Sampler!

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A recent quilt that I completed for a customer was a Sampler that she worked on during the Covid shutdown…she named it her Covid quilt.

She did a beautiful job piecing her quilt and requested that I custom quilt it for her.

I begin each quilting job by pressing both the quilt top and backing. This enables me to really examine the top for any issues that may arise…in my 22 years of quilting for others I have discovered blocks that were turned or pieces misplaced as well as seams that get missed leaving a hole that could get caught in the hopping foot. These things can happen and sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to discover them. My customers have been very relieved when I let them know and offer to fix the issue free of charge.

Pressing the back helps eliminate puckers and pleats as well.

I find that I have more control over the tension by fully loading both top and backing therefore for I avoid floating the top unless it is heavily embellished.

Samplers are a lot of fun to custom quilt, giving me the opportunity to use all kinds of designs!

I use both ruler work and freehand quilting

It’s important to me that there is a perfect balance of designs and density in my quilting when working on a sampler.

With so much happening in the body of the quilt using the technique Piano Keys was a perfect finish on the border.

This quilt was not only trimmed but also bound at pick up!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Snowflake Quilt

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It is no secret that I love blue and white quilts! I love small intricate piecing and this quilt was so beautifully pieced and such a pleasure to quilt! Yes it did go home with its maker but not until I added my touch!

The pattern is Tahoe from Laundry Basket Quilts and it began as a kit from there however it needed to grow and so more fabric was purchased and it was made to fit the bed.

As it was named the Snowflake Quilt by its maker, she chose the fun bold snowflake quilting design for it.

This is not a quick quilt to make, the precision takes time and in my opinion definitely worth the effort!

Her quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

O Canada a Quilt

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As a Proud Canadian it was truly my pleasure to add my touch to Leslie’s beautiful quilt!

We chose the quilting design Maple Syrup, adding the swirling maple leafs over her quilt just felt right!!

Somehow I missed getting a picture of her backing which was full of Canadian vehicles and fun!!

Of course her quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Quilting can make all the difference!

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The maker of this quilt told me that she wasn’t overly crazy about this quilt. So when she picked it up and her mind had changed it truly brought me joy!

She had requested that I choose the quilting design. I decided to include her in making the decision by sending pictures of two ideas that I had and she chose a newer one in my collection. She chose Autumn Splendor Feather by Bethanne Nemesh

This design is a little more dense than other designs however it isn’t tight and the quilt has a lovely drape. Add to that, the rich gorgeous soft flannel backing that has a soft design allowing the quilting to really shine…its maker was truly in love with her quilt!

That’s a part of my job that I really love!!!

Her quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!

I offer quality quilting services and treat each quilt that I work on with the care that I would treat my own.

Each quilt and quilt backing are pressed and checked over before I load it onto my longarm. Occasionally I come across an area that might need a quick fix, and with my customers permission I will repair before quilting.

Most of my customer take me up on my offer of complementary trimming so that their quilts are ready for binding…I do send all of those trimmings home with their quilts!