Category: Wendy’s Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

April Snow 2022

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April is supposedly the month of showers that bring May flowers. After what has felt like an extra long winter this one has been stubbornly hanging on.

I won’t lie and I am sorry for those west of here but I am thankful that the predicted blizzard is bypassing Thunder Bay! This Wednesday they are predicting rain and lots of it…so fingers crossed it doesn’t end up being snow.

Opps I may have spoken too soon looks like Thursday snow this week…

Spring is really the only season that I wish would come sooner than later!

When Liam and I arrived yesterday…I pick him up from school on Mondays and he spends the night…the first thing he did was head for the snow! The Temperature was 8C and with the sun shining it was very pleasant outside.

He does love the snow out here and was so happy to see it was still here!

Last night I came across pictures from a year ago…Liam was with us doing school virtually… he was standing close to the same spot.

April 17, 2021

That day he rode his bike and enjoyed his first ice cream cone of the season, sitting on the deck…. Though 2 days later… April 19, 2021!

The snow has been melting and in a few weeks we should be done with it.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Snow! And Quilting

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Ok, it’s April 11th already and we are still getting snow?? It was snowing this morning when I woke up. It is supposed to rain a lot this week so hopefully that will help the snow melt.

I won’t complain too loudly as it sounds like west of us they are in for a pretty big spring snow storm this week…fingers crossed that we just get the rain!

Yesterday I put the last stitch into a very special quilt that I will be sharing more about very soon. My Longarm and I have been really busy and productive so look for more posts about that.

Next up is the second of three half square triangles I have been quilting for Marilyn. I always press tops and backs before loading them on the Longarm. Her piecing and workmanship is perfect and her fabric and colour/value skills are so inspiring!

Only many years of collecting could possibly build a stash that would make a total of 4 queen size quilts with such an array of fabrics. I wonder how close I am getting.

There are so many options out there for quilters compared to when I began. Tutorials abound on the internet and online shopping opens an incredible world of choice for new and experienced quilters. I personally have fun at times with a quickly pieced quilt but I also really enjoy the journey and challenges of different projects.

Sometimes, projects linger longer that I originally plan such as my Longtime Gone quilt and the collective projects that are waiting…when I start to feel a little guilty regarding what projects in the quilt world that are referred to as UFO’s (unfinished objects) I remind myself that I like to savour the journey. Some projects don’t require quick completions.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Melissa’s Quilt

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This quilt is so special, not only was it Melissa’s first quilt but it is also a quilt for her Grandma.

Melissa is blessed with Aunts that quilt and they have pulled her into the fold of quilt makers.

How pretty and spring like is her quilt! She chose the pantograph Shasta Daisy which is such a perfect fit.

She chose fireside for her backing.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Modern Quilts and Fireside Backing

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I love blue, I love blue for its calmness.

Often quilts are dropped off and not fully opened until their turn comes. This quilt had been discussed with its maker through email as was the quilting decision.

So when I first opened up the quilt and laid it over the Longarm the room already painted a soft blue…really became blue!

The pantograph parchment was chosen and I chose a baby blue thread which moves perfectly across the quilt.

I just love the pretty stitches!

The fireside backing is so soft and blue and really shows off the quilting design. I pieced the backing for this quilt, it worked out beautifully!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Quilt for our Newest Granddaughter

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My daughter recently had their second baby. She and I had discussed the baby’s quilt many times over the last months and she eventually chose the pattern Ivy League from Wren Collective and the palette that was used in this version of the quilt…

I was able to connect with Rachel Thomeczek of the Wren Collective https://wren-collective.com and she kindly shared the palette that was used. Check out her patterns there are several that call to me.

The fabrics are from the Painters Palette from Paintbrush Studios and I ordered them from Pineapple Fabrics. https://www.pineapplefabrics.com

This was my first time using the Painters Palette fabrics and it won’t be my last. They are a little heavier and have a wonderful sheen to them.

To backtrack a little I had originally ordered another palette but it wasn’t quite right, thankfully though a portion of it was absolutely perfect for the backing that we both had our hearts set on. It’s a sweet out of print Cotton+Steel fabric called Flower shop and there just wasn’t quite enough of it… adding the 3 rows from the first quilt top try worked perfectly. *on a side note had I not taken the time to straighten the grain…see my previous post on the quilt…I don’t believe that it would have laid straight when finished.

The quilting is freehand adding a soft organic look and feel to the quilt. Using a 60wt thread allows the stitches to take a backseat to the design.

I hope that this little one and her big sister will spend many hours happily snuggling under their quilts (and making tents and other adventures!) made with so much love and prayers in every stitch.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Cathy’s T-Shirt Quilt and Karen McTavish

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I must confess that I haven’t quilted many T-shirt quilts over my quilting career and in this case there was a bit of a learning curve! A quick chat with Karen McTavish solved the issue that I was having… the tension was beautiful but the stitches were long at times.

She asked what thread I was using, which was Glide and suggested a less slippery thread…I switched to sew fine and problem solved! Thank you Karen for you kindness and generosity!!

For those who don’t know Karen, she is an amazing quilter whom I became acquainted with in a years ago quilting chat group called LaChat where several Longarm quilters met regularly to chat and had forums full of support from one another. Karen had just begun her McTavishing at that point at least the name was suggested at that time….her quilting career has been an amazing one to follow!

I first met her in Duluth when there was a Longarm conference and Quilt Show held at the DECC. So many years ago, it was my first trip alone, first hotel room alone and I met many Longarm online friends there….That was about 17 years ago!

Karen is an APQS dealer and has a Longarm rental shop in Duluth MN and she has recently been expanding her shop carrying exciting fabrics and supplies! Her website is very worth a visit let alone her shop when you can! Check out her amazing online classes while you are there!

https://www.mctavishquilting.com/index.html

So back to Cathy’s T-Shirt Quilt. The story behind it is a collection of T-Shirts belonging to her son in law…he didn’t want to part with them and now he not only doesn’t have to he can also make good use of them! We chose the pantograph bayside as a gentle non descriptive design which worked beautifully.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Another snowy Wednesday…

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It’s April 6th…we still have an abundance of snow! Guess what…we are again under another snowfall warning!

This is my morning view from the picture window…

Thankfully, it’s a day that I am able to stay home and I plan to do just that.

April has been a busy month so far, as was March. My Longarm and I have been busy!

I am slipping in a little baby quilt making daily now as the date of arrival is quickly approaching!

So the other night I hoped to finish piecing the backing. I was tired and didn’t notice that the print was off grain until I had sewn it and laid it out on the floor!

Can you see it? It was late at night, so I decided just to sleep on it.

The next morning I took it apart and using once upon a day home ec lessons straightened the grain. The print is so adorable…it’s a Cotton + Steel called Flower Market and I was determined to use it.

So much better!
The finished backing.

It was worth the extra time it took to match up the design while piecing this backing.

The quilt is loaded on the Longarm, I am hoping to use this snow day to finish it!

One tip for others who longarm. I keep a few pieces of trimmed wide backings from personal quilts and baste them to the top of backings that might be short as a leader preventing unpleasant surprises at the end of the quilt!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Life and Quilting

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March seems like a bit of blurr this year! It was a busy month with quilting, renovations that have officially begun…and a pretty rough cold tucked into the middle that grounded me to the sofa and bed for a few days.

Now that it’s April one would think it would seem like spring here however after last weeks storm and an addition 4 inches of snow this week our world is still white.

We often have seven or so deer often in the yard, nibbling on our trees and being way too brave! We do our best to discourage them.

This is often the view out of the living room picture window… they seem so sweet!

They are getting too bold, when I was sewing after supper last night it seemed to suddenly get dark, I looked up and there were 2 deer right against the window above me…nibbling on what they could find in the flowerbed from last year.

I went upstairs to send them off but when I went to open the front door there was an additional 2 standing on the doorstep! they did eventually take off! Liam finds them pretty entertaining at times.

Liam’s class went on a field trip yesterday. He was so excited and said that it was the best school day ever. They visited Boreal Journey Dog Sled and Kennel. Liam absolutely loves dogs and learnt so much from his day. I was so glad that I got to pick him up from school and enjoy the stories!

They ate their lunch around a campfire…he said he didn’t want to waste too much time eating so only ate his sandwich….he ate two full helpings of supper last night though.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Altheas Quilt

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This quilts maker has been working on using up her Mother’s stash for a few years now. She is very creative and has a lot of fun with her designs!

I will start though with the backing that had two pieces that needed to grow into one large back. I decided on this layout as it was interesting, fun to piece and made the best use of the fabric supplied.

It also really shows off the quilting, doesn’t it?

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Spring Storms

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March can be such an interesting month. This March certainly has been.

I have been quietly working away on my customer quilts, I did get waylaid a bit by a cold that forced me into a few days of rest. This allowed time to also hand sew some bindings.

My Flock quilt top is completed and I have a quilting plan but will need to decide both on the backing and then when it will fit into the longarm que. I absolutely love the colours and pattern of this quilt. I may have mentioned before that I let the blocks land where they may…I placed them on the wall as I made them and for the most part kept them in that order.

Last week we had some really lovely weather that allowed for some coffee and for Erik reading on the deck. Then this!

I put the ruler in the snow at noon March 23rd this was in the driveway that the day before was almost bare.
March 18th
To be fair the head had melted off of the snowman but still! That was a lot of snow!

The sun has returned this morning and the temperature will be above zero all day, hopefully that was this winters last hurrah though somehow I suspect we haven’t seen the last spring storm for 2022.