Tag: Life

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Scrappy Squares and Confetti Background!

wendysquilting

When you have been making quilts for a while you are sure to accumulate fabric (also known as stash) along with scraps!

I know some quilters buy what they need to make a quilt and then discard what they don’t use…I am not sure if I know many that do.

However many accumulate scraps! The quilter who made today’s quilt has such a wonderful colour sense and delights my studio with amazing tops for me to quilt!

Often her piecing is simply squares, it’s the placement and her use of background that make her quilts sing. The background fabric used for this quilt reminded me of bright confetti. She told me that she searched for the perfect fabric after piecing the strips of squares and found it in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan 😊 You see quilting often involves treasure hunting!!!

I chose the quilting design Water World for her quilt. It has a soft flowing almost bubbly look to it that also played so nicely with her blue sky with clouds backing.

The picture doesn’t show that the cloud fabric print was matched when I pieced her backing. Both trimming and piecing backing fabrics are a complementary services that I offer.

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

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Happy Thanksgiving! Quilting and Life

wendysquilting

We were treated to two full days of summer like weather this weekend!

So I gifted myself to 2 hikes at Mills Block Conservation area that is within walking distance from my home. I have always enjoyed the hike on the back loop, but always felt I should have someone with me…though I have always wondered about walking it on my own.

Well this weekend I did it and it was truly glorious, hiking at my own pace with only the sounds of nature. Don’t get me wrong, I love hiking with others. Hiking on my own felt a little scary to be honest…in the end it was exhilarating!!

Oh the wonderful smell of Autumn! I have always loved the sound of walking through the fallen leaves this time of year!

There are so many different sites to see on this hike…

The beavers have been busy. A couple of weeks ago when my grandson and I hiked we were able to watch the Mom and her babies busy at work.

My Longarm and I have been back to our usual busy routine, today though I am treating myself with some piecing time in my sewing room…I am working on the first block from Tara Faughnans Block Studies Season 4.

My first Glow Block…

Today I plan to finish the curved block and maybe work on quilting them as well.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Jane Austen Quilt

wendysquilting

This was such a lovely project to add my touch to!!

When my customer brought me her quilt she had her Mom and 4 young daughters with her. They were all equally excited about the quilt!!! Of course being a mother of 4 daughters their visit did bring back memories 🥰

They chose the quilting design Lilac full of lovely blooms!!

The quilting shows up especially well on the backing doesn’t it?

Do you see and know who was keeping me company while I worked?

Their special quilt made to snuggle under while they read the story was trimmed and was ready for binding at pick up!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Hearts and Bloom Quilt

wendysquilting

Hearts and Bloom is a sweet quilting design for a quilt made with so much love for a newborn granddaughter!

It added another layer of love to this beautifully pieced quilt that has enough density of stitches to ensure that it will survive years of use!

The solid backing really showcases the quilting design!

This adorable quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A First Quilt … Happy Anniversary!!!

wendysquilting

When my friend Linda’s husband saw a post that I did about some quilts a year ago he told her that he wanted a quilt like that!

Well my friend Linda wasn’t a quilter, however she has friends that do. She was determined to learn enough to make him his quilt herself and set their 47th wedding anniversary as her deadline!

She more than met her challenge! Our mutual friend started teaching Linda sewing lessons and it was always fun to hear how it was going! She was always so pleased with her progress and then she began the quilt!

At first there were comments about needing the stitch ripper more often than not in the process and that she had no idea how much was involved in making a quilt! Still she persevered and asked me to quilt it for her.

She chose the quilting design Kindling, for both the texture and movement. It was an excellent choice and using a dark grey thread called sterling perfectly played over all of the colours of the quilt!

Linda has three boys that are all interested in her making them quilts as well…they all are outdoor guys who love fishing and hunting.

The silver grey wide back was a fantastic choice for the backing and really shows off the quilting design.

Her quilt was trimmed and ready for her lessons on binding with Irene.

The quilt was gifted this week and her husband suggested hanging it on the wall and absolutely loves it!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Quilt For A New Beginning

wendysquilting

I always enjoy hearing about a quilts story.

This beautiful, soft quilt was pieced by a mom for her daughter, who has recently graduated and is beginning her new career in another city.

Her daughter chose the quilting design Ripples herself, which added such a lovely personal touch.

I suspect that this quilt will be a wonderful reminder of home as the daughter settles into her new life.

What a wonderful way for a mom to say I am proud of you, and home is never far away 💖

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Quilt from Great Grandma!!!

wendysquilting

It is no secret that I love quilting! Not only did I make my first quilt over 40 years ago…I made longarm quilting for others into a business just over 22 years ago.

I also have a stash of fabric that will keep me happily making quilts for years to come along with new projects that catch my eye. Thankfully I have people in my life who claim my quilts before I even finish them!

I have quilted three quilts in the last couple of months made by Great Grandmas!!! It’s so encouraging to see how beautifully made these quilts are and how much fun these quilters are still having making quilts!

This quilt made with all flannels will be so wonderful for tummy time and snuggles too! The quilting design Popcorn is so light and fluffy looking it reminds me of clouds which is why it was chosen.

I have made many quilts for babies that have ended up thread bare due to love and use and that is always my hope when I quilt these quilts for others!

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

Something that I saw this week and feel that’s it’s worth sharing …

I often laugh with friends that we are just having fun playing with our sewing toys…however maybe our personal sewing time isn’t merely an indulgence, it may also be part of a healthy, mentally stimulating life!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Snuggly Scrap Quilt

wendysquilting

When I was a young girl I was first drawn to quilts that were made with many different fabrics…to later find out that they had a name and originally many were made out of necessity.

Today, many of my customers are making quilts from their stash or from scrap bins ie left over fabrics from other projects.

I personally have a few bins dedicated to scraps and have a lot of fun using and sharing them! It’s often a walk down memory lane from previous projects and gifts from various friends and from my travels.

This customer quilt was pieced using fabrics gifted to her from her niece. She is a fairly new quilter and did a fantastic job making her blocks with so much variety! Framing blocks that are busy with a solid sashing works so well.

My customer chose the quilting design Forest Floor for her quilt. It is a gift for her nature loving son.

Many of my customers do not have a plan for the quilting design when they come to me and ask me to choose or find some suggestions for them. It is a fun part of the process and I have many designs to choose from!!! If I don’t happen to have one that they would like I find it for them. there is never an extra charge for bringing in a new design.

Choosing a nice soft flannel for the backing made this quilt wonderfully warm and snuggly ready for the upcoming cooler months!

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

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Fright Nite Quilt

wendysquilting

This recently completed Halloween quilt left my studio this week.

My customer did tell me that as a new quilt maker she had some challenges making her quilt and pointed out some issues that she knew that it had.

It did have some fullness which she told me made adding the border was not easy.

When she picked up her quilt, it was quilted squared and trimmed ready for binding and no one would know that it had any fullness or issues.

With having so many years of experience quilting for others I know how to work with quilts that might have some issues and I am able to quilt them out so to speak 🥰

I am always happy to help quilters solve piecing issues that they may have as I was so well mentored in my early quilting days it’s a gift that I love to give to others.

Now back to this fun quilt!!!

How delightful are all of the prints!! It was so much fun working on this quilt and knowing that my customers son will love snuggling under it!

How perfect is the backing!

I am adding a picture of the quilting design with name and credit below as the fun design doesn’t show well in the pictures.

Fright Nite by Lisa H Calle
Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

September….

wendysquilting

It’s Apple season again and this year the tree was loaded, much to the grandchildren’s delight! Can you spot Erik?

And also this visitor the other day, we saw each other just as I was heading out the door for my walk, I was just going to sit on the step to put my shoes on when we noticed each other…with it being a cub, I decided to put my shoes on in the house.

Once I was sure the mama was no where clear I stepped out told the cup to enjoy the picnic and off I went. I knew that once Erik spotted it that it would soon be scared off. He also removed all of the apples to remove temptation and to save them for juice making.

We had a couple of grands overnight last weekend and we all went for a walk to the pond in the back of the property. The girls tell us that we have the best backyard. They were excited to discover that we have minnows!

I am enjoying a visit with Liam this weekend….he wanted to try a recipe that he found…

Pancake spaghetti…

Of course along with all of this fun there is customer quilting going on!!