Professional Longarm Quilting Services
Alva never fails to amaze me with her use of colour and the different patterns she finds and makes as in finishes too! I quilted this for her using the Pantograph Leaf Pile.
Lorraine is another prolific quilter, I love the colours that she used in this quilt. It was quilted using the pantograph Waterworld.
Several years ago on a little March Break trip across the border, my youngest daughter and I saw a fabric line in a shop that we had to have along with a pattern that the fabric had been made into. The fabric line was called Seaside Rose of Three Sisters for Moda fame and Katie and I collected a lot of it. I have made several quilts with it over the years but my favorite still is the one I made with Carrie Nelsons Summer Wind Pattern (I have made a few more with the pattern since in a few different colorways).
I have noticed lately that many people are making what are now referred to as Low Volume Quilts and realized that this one falls into that category though it was made so long ago. It is so soft and gentle looking and maybe that’s what drew me to the quilt in the first place as it was made during a very difficult and hard time in my life’s journey.
On another note it sure is nice to see green grass even sprinkled with dandelions even if only in pictures…we still have about 3 feet of snow…
Alva has been both my friend and quilting mentor for over twenty years now. She has also been a major cheerleader in my Longarm Quilting career, entrusting me with the quilting of many many of her incredible quilts over the years.
This latest quilt was inspired by a pattern in one of Ricky Tim’s magazines Quilt Life, the pattern itself by Wendy Hill. Alva had the templates made and then played with ideas for awhile before allowing this project to be what she’s referred to as her latest insanity! Notice all of the Y seams!
We chose a Pantograph called Helix by Patricia Ritter, to give even more movement to this piece. I chose Superiors Bottom Line thread as I did not want the thread to take front stage just the spiral affect.
I am really hopeful that yesterday was our last snow day, but I must admit that I love photographing quilts against a snowy background.
Thank you again Alva for allowing me to work with you to make your vision come to be!
Such a pretty quilt that I filled with freehand feathers and swirls, some echoing and a little bit of ruler work. My only regret is that I didn’t take a picture of the whole quilt finished.
One of the panels in a recent quilt. I have had so much fun running my machine on manual and drawing with it! I’ve used monopoly for the top thread for the fish and Bottom line for background and bobbin.
I know I haven’t been posting much this summer, despite having so much to share. I’ve been busy in my studio though, here’s a little peek.
Another quilt finished today, this was pieced from different types of Minke fabrics as well as some cottons and flannels and a thick, very plush back. Again my machine comes through, beautiful stitches front and back!
Every now and then a quilt comes in with something I haven’t quilted before. (Not very often, after 9 years I’ve quilted a lot of quilts!)
I just finished this one this morning, cotton and chenille top and flannel back. My Millennium came through as always, no problems with thicker intersections and the tension is perfect! I can’t wait for my customer to see it!
My quilting journey has taken me through so many phases, styles, patterns, loves, likes and dislikes. It really all started when I watched “Little House on the Prairie” and fell in LOVE with their “blankets”. When I said to my Mom how much I loved them, she casually remarked “oh those are just quilts and only poor people make those” I guess that growing up on a farm during the depression influenced her opinion at the time. My Mom now quilts too.
So It began with a love for the scrappier looking quilts and I made several, some were hand quilted and some simply machine quilted on my old singer. Fabric sources were hard to come by at that time.
Over the years I’ve used many different patterns, and for the most part stayed in the soft to pastel line of colours, and really enjoyed the emergence of the “Moda” fabric lines. Lately I have been emerging from that box as future posts will reveal!
When my Longarm arrived I joined the Moda University Kit club at the Fatquartershop and made and quilted many of those quilts and proudly gifted them to family. I have several Fatquartershop block of the month quilts in various stages of completion and I’ve also been busy these last 8 years quilting for others.
It’s always so much fun at our Local show to see my customers quilts on display! Here are a few of them from last weekends show.
When I first started Longarm Quilting for others, it was to supplement my income allowing me as a single parent, to be at home while I raised my four daughters. There were always just enough quilts coming in to help make ends meet! I am so grateful to all of my wonderful friends/customers who have entrusted me with their quilts.
Quilting, including Machine Quilting is a passion of mine, while making some income quilting for others is a great thing it is not the entire reason why I run my business.
My customers make quilts for so many reasons and bring them to me to add another dimension to their work, I love bringing their vision to reality. I take pride in my work, the tension has to be perfect, the design perfect for that quilt, quality threads that will withstand many many years of use and above all the satisfaction that my work meets up to the piecers as well as my own expectations for quality work.
I have met other Longarm quilters and for the most part we tend to be a group who do not compete but instead share information and encourage each other which is something that has always been a part of quilting isn’t it.
Of course the best part of quilting are the friendships that are found and grown, don’t you agree?
I’ve had several people ask me for this pattern. My friend Alva has demonstrated the block at Thunder Bay Quilters Guild.
One note about her quilt is that the fabrics came from a fatquarter bundle of flannels.
Each block consists of:
1. Sew on black strip to each of the rectangle prints
2. Choose your layout for the block and one of the rectangles with the black (or your solid) to the square. HERE IS THE IMPORTANT STEP: only sew half way from the bottom edge.
3. Press this section. (Press all seams to the black strip) and sew your next rectangle as shown:
.
4. Continue with the next 2 rectangles:
5. and finally finish the first seam. Alva added black sashing’s to her quilt when joining her blocks.
Now that I’ve made a block I am going to have to add this to my quilts to make list.
I’d love to see other versions, so if you make a quilt using this tutorial and would like me to quilt it this winter I will supply your batting! Just mention this tutorial. (This offer applies only to January and February 2013.)
Also note that I now have several wide quilt backs for sale to my quilting customers all backs sell for $15. a yard. You will only buy what your quilt requires.
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 