Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Finishing a Mothers Quilts part 1

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Somehow it’s mid November! The leaves have all fallen and the last few mornings have been frosty but for the most part the daytime temperatures have been mild for this time of year.

Where have I been? Busy quilting for the most part.

I have completed several jobs and some I do not have permission to share yet. One was a large queen sized quilt with scallop edges that I hand stitched the binding down…

And then….

One of the true joys in Longarm quilting for others is helping to finish quilts that have a lot of meaning to the owner. This fall I had the pleasure of finishing 3 quilts that were my customers Moms final quilts along with my customers first quilt.

I will write separate blog posts for each starting with this one of her Moms.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love scrap quilts and this one was no exception. There are several fabrics in this quilt that were not quilting cottons and some appeared to be from some time ago reminding me of my childhood. Ok the 70’s

This quilt required a little TLC and I did my best to add extra stitches where needed.

I recently read a post from a Longarm quilter on Facebook about a quilt she was working on that some of the seams didn’t quite meet and wondering why any quilter would miss that. One response was perhaps the quilter is aging and her eyesight isn’t what it once was.

I happily made the necessary repairs hoping that one day if that is me someone might come along and do the same.

Having quilted for others for almost 20 years I have learnt many ways to tackle issues that come with some quilts. Special quilts that need to be completed.

I did consider removing the final border and reapplying it but reconsidered due to all of the bias involved.

Instead I made gentle pleats as needed and hand stitched them down after quilting.

My customer brought me the 4 quilt tops and requested that I choose the backings which I did and ordered them with her approval.

Sometimes using the same fabric for the binding just works.

I carry Hobbs 80/20 on the roll for customer quilts, I do my best to get the very best price that I can so that I can pass that along.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Life and October

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I haven’t added very much about life on this blog for a while. Our summer was busy and for the most part great. After spending this bonus 6 and a half weeks travelling south of here in the spring it feels like we have had an extra long summer.

The summer weather here held out throughout September and we had our last swim in the pool on the last day of summer!

This morning we woke to a hard frost and a chilly house so decided to put the furnace on for a bit. (Also to make sure it’s working)

The view from the living room window shows that it is truly Fall.

We also winterized the pool and tucked away the pool toys yesterday.

Some of the summer highlights included having two of our grands for almost a week, Olivia was almost a year and Jaxson almost 4 kept us on our toes but and gave us so much joy during their stay!

Kaija and I didn’t get as much sewing in as we had planned, the weather was just too nice not to be outside!

The Jack in the Box is always a big hit with the grands!

Liam still enjoys making a fort and having a nap in it!

I had so much fun with these two little sweeties, my daughter Emily’s daughters. They are pure joy!

Our annual trip to the Dells was extra fun with another family joining us this year.

After a fun stop along the lake everyone agreed that our next stop should be Dairy Queen in Two Harbours.

Everyone had a great time at the Waterparks, somehow I didn’t get many pictures this year.

We celebrated Kaija’s 5th birthday at Moose Jaw Pizza, her Dad had also recently celebrated his birthday it was a significant one as well and began with 4 😊

Birthday Girl!
Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Sarah’s Star Quilt

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It’s so wonderful when I meet a younger quilter and see in them the excitement for quilting that I found in my early twenties for this amazing craft!

The Paper Pieced stars and chain blocks in this quilt really pop against the black background.

Sarah chose the pantograph Belly Bop, this design added to the modern feel of her quilt.

Her backing was so nice to work with, it was 60” wide so only required one seam for this queen size quilt. I asked Sarah where she purchased it and she told me it came from Ana Paula Brasil’s shop.

Sarah’s quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Murder Mystery Quilt

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I recently had the pleasure to add my touch to this amazing and very interesting quilt.

Its maker took part in the 2023 Murder Mystery designed by Whipstitch https://whip-stitch.com/blog/

https://murdermysteryquilt.com/

She did make some changes including fabrics, the shape of the dragons head and also added the sequins and bead embellishments to the dragon.

When we met to discuss her quilt, my initial thought was that the quilting design Star-swirl would be a perfect match for this quilt. I pulled various designs from my collection however once she saw Star-swirl that was her choice.

Quilting a pantograph with embellishments especially beads can be problematic however I have a technique that enables me to work with them successfully.

There are many interesting details, such as the hand sewn appliqué on both the dragon and the snake.

The backing is a stunningly beautiful blue.

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

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Mystery Quilts

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There are several quilt groups that meet in our city, these quilts are a result of one of the groups doing a mystery quilt project .

Both of these quilts were fun to add my touch to. This first one with its trains and the steam coming from the engine on the backing made me think of swirls…bear with my imagination…

Also adding a curvy or swirly quilting design over angular piecing is pleasing to the eye.

I love how this backing adds a fun touch to this quilt esp with the purple in the steam coordinating with the quilt top.

The same quilt, different colours…so soft looking.

The backing is a winter scene, I chose the pantograph Star Swirl playing on the idea of winter night with swirling snow and a starry night…the curvy quilting with some points also works so nicely on angular piecing.

Both quilts were trimmed and ready for binding at pick up.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Joan’s Zen Chic Quilt

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Joan used a layer cake from Zen Chic to piece this gorgeous quilt!

I chose the pantograph Jitterbug to dance all over this quilt top, adding curves over the angular piecing created a softer appearance.

When piecing the backing I took the extra time to match the seam…always a complimentary service. It was well worth the effort as it was not easy to find the seam.

I love how beautiful the stitching and design show up on the back as well as the top.
Her quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up.
Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Choosing a Quilting Design

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Many of my customers ask me to choose the quilting design for their quilts. More often than not as soon as I look at a quilt top I know how I want to quilt it.

My initial thought was wow, I love all of the colours in this quilt, how fun!! On closer inspection of the fabrics…all batiks had various shapes ranging from bubbles, dots, curls, swirls, flowers and leaves and more.

The pantograph Waterworld came to mind initially which surprised me to be honest as it’s one that I often use on baby or children’s quilts.

The more I thought about it, as I prepared the quilt for loading onto my Longarm, (which involves pressing the top and in this case piecing the backing) the backing colour confirmed my choice.

The next decision was thread colour, the fabric used in the border and sashing initially read black but it is actually a very dark blue with hints of a softer blue, choosing a baby blue thread worked perfectly.

The thread plays really well across all of the colours, there is some contrast on the border and sashing however it isn’t enough to jump out at you.

Joan’s quilt is trimmed and ready for binding.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Coffee Time Quilt

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I love knowing the story behind quilts, in this case the purpose of this one was extra special.

It was made with the idea of having the family members that the maker has coffee with every week sign the quilt.

The pantograph Ripples came to mind immediately when I saw the quilt with its appearance of steam coming from the cups.

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

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Fun Gift and Project

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While we were travelling in the spring I was able to visit Hancocks of Paducah where I treated myself to a fat quarter bundle of Tula Pink prints…I didn’t have a plan for the fabric I just liked them.

A few weeks after returning home I decided to treat myself to a new Oliso project iron, I chose the Tula Pink one because it looks so happy! This was definitely not a need purchase just a I really want purchase 🥰

For a year or so I have been watching and admiring Minki Kim’s YouTube tutorials and her patterns and when she came out with her pouch pattern for the iron I knew I wanted to make it!

https://youtu.be/WrkIPg1cRrQ?si=eW8wAuFzv2UJozbc

This was such a fun project!

I really enjoy this new iron, I have the previous model, this new one is a vast improvement in many ways.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

An Alaska Quilt

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This quilt was made with fabric purchased during its makers travels in Alaska. Fussy cutting the animals in the prints and attaching to a black block is a brilliant way to showcase the beautiful prints.

Using the pantograph Kindling played on the idea of Nothern Lights and using a chameleon like thread colour that disappeared over the appliqué and yet clearly shows in the background made the animals truly pop!

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

I love how beautiful the stitches look on the back as well.