Tag: Longarm Machine Quilting Thunder Bay Ontario

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Suzanne’s Nebula Quilt

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The Nebula Quilt designed by Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts with fabric designed by Tula Pink is a glorious party of Colour!

Suzanne chose a soft flannel backing and Wool for her batting. A good quality wool batting from companies like Hobbs and Quilters Dream are wonderful to work with and add more loft to a quilt.

Wool is warm in the winter without added weight and also cooler in the summer. It does require a little more care when washing and I personally would not ever put a quilt with wool in the dryer. I actually hang all quilts to dry but that is a personal preference.

After looking through several options for a quilting design Suzanne chose Belly Bop, it is a fun and medium dense design that plays so nicely over these modern prints.

The super soft flannel backing has such a soft flowing design and really showcases the quilting.

The quilt was trimmed and ready for binding when it was picked up.

Let me work with you to bring your quilting projects to completion!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

November

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I am not entirely sure how December has arrived when I was just getting used to it being November!

The very best part of November in my books is that it’s Liam’s Birthday…he turned 12 last week.

My Dad hosted a family dinner in Liam’s honour, he smoked a turkey that Liam’s Mom provided and the rest of the dinner was made by my daughter Katie and I. Family dinners are so much easier when everyone helps!

I wish that I had taken a picture of his gift and reaction to opening it. You see he had requested money for an upcoming trip in February…this request was made in the summer. So to make it fun, I put 4 $1. USD bills in a peanut butter jar as a liner to look like the label…then filled a third of it with coins and wrapped more bills into the centre of the coins and topped the jar up with our remaining Halloween treats. The gift was a total success.

As his Grandma I have enjoyed his childhood so much, we have spent so much time together and he has truly brought so much joy in my life. These last months I have noticed how much he has grown and is definitely less of a little boy. I am sure by his next birthday he will be taller than I am, his life is busy with soccer and school and friends as it should be…though he has told me he still plans to be here in the summer and our annual trip to the Dells.

When my 3 year old granddaughter Minka let me know that she wanted an all pink quilt, I happily got on that…I am also making one for her sister. Pink is Minka’s favourite colour right now. The quilt is similar to Olivia’s baby quilt that I made last summer.

A night time shot of my design wall.

I have been collecting pink fabric for awhile now, I took advantage of Road17N’s Black Friday sale and ordered backing fabric and a couple more metres of pinks…what a great surprise to find more pink fabrics inside the parcel a few days later!

I really try to allow for an hour of piecing every evening after I finish working on the Longarm. I may have to add an extra hour in the morning in order to finish both quilts.

My presentation of my quilting journey went well at the November Quilt Guild meeting.

Welcome to December…

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Those Trees!

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Last year when some of my customers saw this table runner that I had quilted they were inspired!

The pattern is Those trees by Zen Chic.

Melissa chose Kona Sheen in Arctic Ice for her background fabric, it truly has the sheen of ice with a very subtle sparkle to it.

Backed with a silver grey Fireside fabric and quilted with the pantograph Windswept, trimmed and ready for binding….her quilt that she made for herself will soon be ready to snuggle under.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Cathy’s Stretched Periwinkle Quilt

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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.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Disappearing Hourglass Quilt

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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.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Cathy’s Batik Quilt

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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.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Getting ready…

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For Christmas that is,

How sweet is this snuggly flannel quilt!

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.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Few Days in November…Quilting and Life

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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!!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Jeanne‘s Quilts

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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 💗

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Joan’s Quilt

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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!