Cathy took part in Joyce Gilmores quilting retreat in Terrace Bay this fall, she had let me know that she was making the quilt and as she already had a quilt in the queue when she told me she was going I had added this Christmas one along with her batik quilt.
If you let me know when you begin a quilt and would like to have me quilt it for you I will add you into my list at that point.
She has named her quilt Baby it’s Cold Outside.
It was a fun and happy quilt to work on and she chose the pantograph Rhapsody and a perfect one in my opinion for this quilt!
Cathy likes to have me attach her bindings for her so that they are ready for hand stitching when she picks them up.
She had this quilt completed finished for Monday and showed both this and her Batik quilt at the Guild meeting this week.
Monday…was my presentation of my Quilting Journey at the Thunder Bay Quilters Guild meeting. It is the last in person meeting until the spring.
It was really important to me, to show my quilts in person as I also like people to see and yes feel free to touch my quilts!
One of the quilts that I was asked about after my presentation was my Hourglass quilt. My friend Alva and I challenged each other to make them.
I made mine with Kaffe Fasset fabrics with a solid white background.
Alva’s in Batiks
Hers was quilted shortly after she made hers (using the pantograph Starswirl) this was the last quilt that Alva made, she had attached her binding herself, and it was the only quilt of hers that I hand stitched the binding for her as she was no longer able to.
I had to tuck mine away for a while.…
When I was ready, I quilted mine with the pantograph Rhododendron. it also began my run on Kaffe quilts that I made…which I did show some of on Monday.
We used the tutorial by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt to make our quilts. It’s a fun, easy quilt to make and one that really showcases beautiful fabrics.
Preparing for my presentation, was a journey for me personally as I decided which quilts to show. I hope that new quilters noticed my progress from beginner to where I am now in my journey and it encouraged them in their own journey.
Batik fabrics are so beautiful with their colour and pattern variations, this quilt that was completed last week is a carnival of just that!
So much to see and yet so cohesive that they are comfortable placed together, adding a soft flannel backing truly added to how inviting this quilt will be to snuggle under by its recipient.
Cathy chose the pantograph A Little Bit of this, a wonderful design that flows so beautifully along with the designs found in the fabric.
The 40 weight thread in a colour that didn’t quite blend but also didn’t have a stark contrast with the lighter fabrics in the quilt was a perfect choice.
The quilt was trimmed with the binding attached (not pictured) and ready for some lovey hand stitching sessions…
It’s always such a pleasure for me to work with others to help them bring their quilts to completion.
Erik and I both took yesterday off! We enjoyed an afternoon visiting friends and their new home. Friends that I share a history with as I was their daycare provider when our children were babies and who were truly there for me as I journeyed through some very challenging times as I began life as a single Mom.
We have enjoyed some beautiful weather this month and yesterday was no exception, this bay on Lake Superior where they live is a reminder of how amazing this world we live in truly is!
The lake was calm yesterday and the air along the lakeshore felt so clean and crisp to breathe.
Afterwards we visited friends who have downsized from their beautiful country home that they built together many years ago. It was a lovely sanctuary and so hard to say goodbye bye to.
There comes a time though and they made the decision to move to town, buy a core floor home that is easily managed. They told us that when they moved that they wondered how they would fill their days. They have adjusted well and turned their home and yard into their new sanctuary and enjoy daily walks as well.
My Longarm is loaded and ready to start the week!
Tonight at Quilt Guild I will share some of my quilts and share some of my story. My Quilting Journey.
It’s so much fun quilting for and seeing what other quilters are making or have made.
We chose a edge to edge design that would be subtle and not too dense with both top and back being flannel, this kept a nice soft drape.
The backing is a coordinated fabric and so Beary fun!
Trimmed and ready for binding this quilt will be ready for the holidays.
Do you like to make seasonal quilts?
Let me know if you are working on or have a project you might like to have quilted before the holidays. I always try to make a little extra time in my schedule to accommodate a few extra quilts this time of year.
Sunday night I prepared my studio for Monday…the life of a Longarm Quilter…
The quilt on the right was ready for trimming and the one on the left for loading.
On Monday I spent most of my Day loading and quilting the customer quilt on the left in the above picture after trimming the quilt on the right.
After an early supper I packed up and joined the girls at the Rec centre for some relaxation, visiting and personal piecing… my postage stamp quilt project is perfect for these evenings.
On Tuesday after spending my morning quilting the customer quilt on the left in the above picture I gave myself the afternoon “off” to help Erik outside.
In November when the temperatures are in the double digit range on the positive side it’s a real treat! (Just a note that I am Canadian and I am talking Celsius) it reached 13 degrees on the 14th!
We loaded three truck loads of firewood to bring home along with a couple of other things. We also unloaded one truck load of firewood…let me tell you, our supper was well earned.
After a short rest after supper, Erik headed back outside and I to my studio to finish quilting the quilt on my Longarm… as a treat and to wind down from the day I spent a little time in my sewing room working on my postage stamp quilt.
Wednesday began with preparing the next quilt, I always like to press each quilts backing and top which gives me the opportunity to look everything over before loading.
This quilt will come off the frame today.
I was asked a question at quilting the other day… it was how I can sew all day and not have upper back pain?
I make it a habit to change activities through out the day, I take breaks to stretch and move around, sometimes hopping on the glider in my studio for a bit between rows of longarming.
In my sewing room, my ironing station requires getting out of my chair and standing to press what I am working on. When all else fails my back massager is a very good friend!!
I have been blessed with friends who were well ahead of me in this journey of life!
Having friends who had raised their children and were cheerleading me on as I raised my daughters on my own. Having also worked and raised her family on her own she knew full well what my life was like, my friend Jeanne.
Jeanne was also a quilter and had me quilt for her. Two quilts that I have pictures of hold especially special memories.
Her Alpine Wonder Quilt was an early custom quilt job for me, I remember her delight in seeing it quilted and ready for embellishment! It was quilted before one could find many other similar quilts online for ideas. It still remains after all these years a popular Pinterest image that leads others to this blog.
Many years later after attending a wedding one of my daughters asked if I knew Jeanne. The wedding was at Jeanne’s home and my daughter recognized my quilting.
This next quilt, also an early custom… Jeanne’s Star Quilt.
Jeanne’s Star Quilt
Jeanne’s reaction to this quilt was pure joy and excitement! I wish that I had thought to take a picture of her with this quilt…however this was before I always had a camera (aka smart phone) in my purse. You see I delivered this quilt to Jeanne and visited her at her beautiful home on Lake Superior.
I loved visiting with Jeanne at her house, she had a wonderful sewing room beside her husbands room that was dedicated to his model train hobby.
Jeanne also loved to meet for lunch at Applebees for Asian Salad…she always insisted on it being her treat. She knew that at that time with 4 young daughters to raise, a lunch out was a huge treat!
The back of Jeanne’s Star Quilt
The last time I saw Jeanne was at the Quilt Show before Covid. She came up to me and said that she couldn’t remember names anymore but she was very sure that she knew me. I told her that yes indeed she did and that I quilted her quilts…and then she knew.
I learnt yesterday that Jeanne has passed away at the age of 91 on November 6th.
I am so thankful for my time with this special friend 💗
This quilt left the studio yesterday. I love Joan’s quilts, every one of them is different and fun!
I chose the pantograph Tickle Too, it has some feathers and swirls that just added more visual interest in this scrappy quilt. I really enjoy hand guiding my Longarm Quilting Machine, after quilting for so many years it has truly become a friend.
Joan couldn’t remember the pattern that she used, other than she found it on Pinterest. Does any one recall the name of it?
The quilt was trimmed and not shown but the binding was also prepared and ready for binding at pick up.
The beautiful fabric with the large Hibiscus blooms deserved…in my opinion…for the be pattern matched.
It does take a little extra time to match the pattern when preparing the backing, however I feel that it is time well spent. This is a service that is complimentary for my customers.
Taking a little extra time to prepare a quilt for loading onto the Longarm helps me to achieve the beautiful results that I am happy and proud to show my customers.
Let me help you bring your quilting projects to completion!
We know it’s coming and this may not stay, but then again it might. It’s truly a sign of what’s to come.
Thankfully my quilting keeps me busy and warm, and to be honest for the most part I don’t mind the snow.
This quilt is now ready for winter! I won’t be trimming this one as it’s not finished. After piecing the super soft flannel backing, it was loaded onto the Longarm with butter soft wool batting. It was stitched in the ditch around all of the blocks, and borders in preparation for hours of hand quilting by its maker.
As a Professional Longarm Quilter I happily offer all kinds of quilting services and love to help others learn this wonderful art of quilting.
As a longtime quilter, I still love the fun of making quilts big and small and learning new techniques and trying new ideas.
A sweet little wallhanging. There’s just something about houses and quilting.
What projects do you have in mind to work on this winter?
I will be doing a presentation of my quilting Journey at the Thunder Bay Quilter‘s Guild this Month, November 20th if you are interested in checking out the Guild it might be a meeting to attend.
I am for the most part a self taught quilter, I had never actually touched a Longarm quilting machine until mine arrived almost 19 years ago.
I have always loved to play with fabric and notions and very early on in my life with my Moms sewing machine…until she up graded and gave me her old one, I may have been 9 years or so at that point.
My love of sewing and then quilting has never deminished.
These two quilts are examples of trying out new to me techniques in 2013. They were inspired by the work and book by Angela Walters of Quilting is My Therapy.
This first quilt was one I designed myself wanting an opportunity to play with new ideas and adding piping as a detail in the piecing. The floral print gave me the opportunity to outline and showcase the flowers.
This type of quilting is a lot of fun, well for me anyways! I enjoy creating this density and variety in quilting when I can.
The next quilt was pieced using a pattern called picnic which I found on the Moda Bakeshop site from 2013.
Again playing with ideas from Angela Walters for the quilting. When learning to quilt it was suggested to use a busy backing which I did.
I have a customer quilt in my queue that I am planning to use different quilting fills on, it’s been good to look back on previous work alongside with playing with new ideas.
Last night I began quilting a placemat with my Juki Haruka, it’s a bright and busy mat and a beginning project while I work on this new to me skill.
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 