Professional Longarm Quilting Services
As much as I love the beautiful soft greens of spring…the blazing reds, orange and yellows of autumn always amaze and inspire me!
Cathy’s fun Autumn quilt left this week, quilted using the pantograph Star Swirl played on the brewing storm in this moonlit scene. The fire orange fireside backing really showcases the quilting design as well.
I have some fun projects brewing in my studio, what are you working on?
I absolutely fell in love with this recent quilt that I worked on for Cathy. Her fabric choice of Linen along with the print and solid were a perfect fit for the Interconnected Pattern by Brooke Shankland.
Maybe I am aging myself a little here but the flower colours reminded me of the Kitchen Appliances of my childhood…in the 70’s.
Many of Cathy’s quilts are backed using fireside and this is one is no exception. Fireside is a product of Moda and is soft and cuddly and easy to work with. The quilting leaves an indentation in the fabric instead of easily visible stitching.
We chose the pantograph Rhododendron which added such a fun softness to this beautiful quilt.
The quilt left my studio trimmed and ready for binding.
Let me help you complete your quilting projects!
For Professional Quality Longarm Quilting Services contact me at
wendysquilting@gmail.com or 1-807-251-4261
The leaves are changing colours and after a very full summer life is feeling quieter.
Its always a shock to the system as the days get shorter, well they don’t really get shorter of course, however the sun disappears earlier.
Living in Northwestern Ontario it takes us a split second to get used to the long days of sunlight beginning in June and the warmer temperatures.
After a deep clean of my Longarm studio, I noticed the light catching these two recent quilt jobs catching the light just right! Both quilts have fireside backings which will be perfect for snuggling under as the days get shorter and cooler!
Our summer feels like it flew by, though taking time to reflect it was full with many fun filled days with grand children, friends and family. Working on outside project (mostly Erik) and of course quilting.
I almost always allow for an hour of play in the evening after turning the Longarm off. Lately it has been with a large pkg of 2 1/2 in squares of scrap fabric gifted from a friend.
What are you working on?
I am often contacted about the Police Patch quilts that I have made and my previous posts about them are often visited both here and on Pinterest.
Several years ago I was contacted by an officer who had an amazing collection of patches and wanted a quilt made with them for a friend who was retiring.
If you are interested in making a quilt like this…I started by choosing the largest patch and making the blocks 1 1/2 “ larger than that patch. Each patch was centred and stitched down (around the edges) using clear thread though I might choose a 60 or weight now that blends.
The block colour was as close as I could come to match the officers uniform. For fun, I used solid colours pulled from the patches for the corner stones and the fun binding.
I used my Longarm for the quilting though it could have been quilted on a domestic machine as well.
Not long after making the above quilt I was commissioned to make a second one for another officer.
After posting pictures on this blog I was again commissioned to make another patch quilt.
Do you have a patch collection?
This is a recent customer quilt that left my studio quilted, trimmed and ready for binding.
At first glance, it would seem that a butterfly pantograph or quilting design would be the perfect and easy choice for this quilt. It would have been a fine choice of course. Though a closer look shows the pieced flowers on the top and then there’s the backing to consider.
With dragonflies gracing the backing…I chose a fun simple floral pantograph to work with the piecing on the front which really didn’t compete with the back.
Many of my customers leave the choice of quilting designs to me, which is such a fun part of the process. Some customers choose their quilting design with me from my many many pantographs and some request pantographs that I don’t yet own that I order for their quilts…(at no extra charge to them)
We have had a great summer filled with fun filled days of Grand Parenting!
One super fun activity has been when Kaija comes over and asks to sew! Her last visit involved making a card and gift for her Moms Birthday.
Kaija loves digging into my scrap basket and I love both watching her and letting her decide what to use. For this project she chose the outside fabric because Mommy loves rainbows! The bright yellow lining made her smile and she knows where my zipper drawer is and chose pink.
We spent some time looking through my threads and she chose an almost fluorescent pink for the quilting.
I of course took care of the cutting and most of the pressing…she loves to push the buttons on my sewing machine and push the pedal while we sew and quilt.
The soft wavy quilting using the walking foot is a great and fun way to show a child how to quilt. Some of the steps she watched and helped.
After adding one of her favourite stickers she wrapped her gift and card…
I am planning to find a platform for my sewing machine pedal for her next visit and will plan a simple project that she can sew on her own.
Summer is so short here and this summer has been busy, we try to make the most of the nice weather and time with the grandchildren and family.
Some days I quilt early morning but in the Summer it often waits for the evenings! This was a recent quilt that will be going to its piecers friend who loves dogs.
I used the pantograph Popcorn for the quilting.
The quilt is trimmed and ready for binding! (The backing was also made with yardage that I pieced which is another complimentary service that I offer my customers along with trimming)
One of the things we really enjoy when on a road trip is staying off of the interstate highways as much as possible!
Driving home along the Mississippi in Wisconsin allowed for interesting sites and finding fresh corn for sale at the end of a farms driveway…no pictures but wow you can’t beat fresh corn!
The roadside stops were interesting and this was at one of them…the guys really enjoyed using it!
We stopped to explore and play in Hastings MN.
Liam really really wanted to rent the scooter…unfortunately there wasn’t time and it also requires riders to be 18 and over…
We did find some other fun though…
Erik found a play to play too!!
Liam likes to climb and tease me that he is going to jump!!
The next stop was Stillwater MN where we climbed the 150 step stairs!
The bridge we were standing on used to be for vehicles, now it’s pedestrian only and the new bridge is in the background.
Another rest stop just before Hinckley MN where we stopped to grill. Liam had a great time in the play area with his skateboard!
We stayed overnight at the Hinckley Inn…we all had a good sleep…
The next morning we were off to Duluth MN for a little shopping…
Liam loves his Lego!
All things that drive
And esp visiting Camping world where he likes to explore the Ice Fishing “Shacks” and travel trailers.
One last cookout of the trip was in Beaver Bay…the weather had changed to drizzly and cool but that didn’t stop the fun!
One last stop to play and explore!
I didn’t take pictures but I did visit the newer quilt shop in Two Harbours MN on the way home it’s called One Old Loon and is well worth visiting!!!
Our annual trip to the Dells happened again! Liam begins talking about next years trip shortly after getting home from the Dells.
He wasted no time getting up on travel day and is now a great help loading the truck.
Wisconsin Dells is such an interesting place and seeing it through the eyes of an 11 year old makes it even more fun!
I have taken a picture of Liam each trip in front of my favourite ride at Noah’s Ark. it’s the Black Anaconda…a water coaster. Both Liam and Erik don’t understand why I like it so much as they don’t really care for it! I just like it!
Liam’s first visit he was just over the required 48” to ride.
We spent a day and a half at Noah’s ark and a half day at Mount Olympus when the guys spent hours on the go carts and I enjoyed a nice cool relaxing spot in the shade 😊
We spent another day at Circus World in Baraboo.
This is the last season for the Elephants at Circus World, they are retiring and moving to a sanctuary to live out the rest of their lives.
Another Annual picture…Liam can no longer fit his head in the crocodiles mouth!
We almost always have pizza at Moose Jaw in the Dells! We prefer to have a table upstairs though if you don’t ask you get seated in the very crowded noisy lower level….if you prefer a quieter more relaxed setting it’s worth it to ask 😊
Liam put his antlers on as soon as we got to the table and really enjoyed his root beer and pizza!
I was there too!!
We played mini put that night…Erik won but it was a close match! Afterwards another annual picture with Captain Hook.
Sadly it began raining afterwards so our annual DQ and walk downtown didn’t happen this year, there’s always another time.
We drove home along the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River this year with stops in Hasting MN and Stillwater MN before stopping for the night in Hinckley MN….the trip home deserves its own post coming soon.
This quilt was so much fun to work on!
The cupcakes are on the backing but are so adorable I decided to name it the Cupcake Quilt!
The bright happy colours along with the fun pieced backing called for some whimsy in the quilting which led me to choose the pantograph Tickle Too with its combination of swirls, curls and feathers.
Quilting a pieced backing such as this can be a challenge on the Longarm but with a little extra time and planning it can be done. In this case the quilt is truly two sided!
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 