Professional Longarm Quilting Services
Starswirl is a beautiful pantograph design, it has a really nice flow to guide my machine over creating a beautiful even density of stitches over the quilt.
The stitches are so pretty and really shine on the blue backing! The daylight was not overly cooperative yesterday, the first picture is a truer image of the green in this fun quilt.
The quilt is trimmed and ready for binding. This quilter is making quilts for each grandchild and saving them for when they are grown.
Betty and I have been friends for many years! I have always been so appreciative of her friendship and life guidance over the years, she is an encourager and cheers me on.
We first met when I was a young Mom, and I have been quilting for her for almost 19 years. At 89 yrs she is still making quilts!
Betty pieced the pattern Polychromatic by Elizabeth Hartman for her son. He and his wife chose the pantograph Belly Bop for the quilting design.
My pictures does not fully capture the beautiful brightness of this quilt.
The gray background fabric is Essex Linen which is made with 55% linen and 45% cotton. This fabric is a looser weave than regular quilting cotton and has a bit of a stretch and also frays very easily. Betty told me that it was a challenge to work with.
I kept a close eye for stray threads that migrated from their place to lay under the lighter fabrics as they really showed up.
Isn’t that backing pretty!
Betty’s quilt is trimmed and ready for binding.
My view this morning…I love the snow laden tree look!
A couple of posts ago I shared a picture of the backing fabric being prepared for this quilt.
In my opinion it is well worth the time to do things well. This includes pinning and making sure that my end result is a beautifully quilted quilt that lays flat without puckers or pleats. I know that there are short cuts, however I also know that shortcuts can result in issues that I am not happy with.
It’s a wonderful feeling when I finish a quilt that I know that my customer will feel proud of.
The backing:
Joan has been using her stash to create fantastic quilts!
I really enjoy a good splash of colour in my studio!
Her quilt is trimmed and the binding prepared and ready for pick up.
What are you working on? Do you use your scraps?
Most of my quilting time is spent helping my customers complete their quilts. I do however schedule in time for myself to piece.
I like to have a few projects on the go at the same time, do you?
My current fun is the scrappy postage stamp quilt which I will be working on for a while!
Welcome December 21! The first official day of winter…I may come to regret saying this but where is the snow? The weather forecast for Christmas Eve and day are for above 0 Celsius. This might just be my first not white Christmas in Thunder Bay.
I am finishing up my Christmas projects this week. This little pouch along with another were my fun task last night. I love making these little projects and they make fun gifts.
As we move closer to Winter solstice our amount of natural daylight hours become less and less add to that, that it seems that the sun is shy and hiding behind the clouds… making it really challenging to truly capture the true beauty of some quilts. I came close with this quilt.
Marlene’s White Chocolate quilt is absolutely stunning with its subtle soft colours and creamy backgrounds.
After looking at several options for the quilting, Marlene chose the pantograph Gravity. The fun oval design of this pantograph leans toward a modern look and really plays so nicely with this more traditional looking quilt.
The curves in the quilting soften the angular look in the piecing.
The backing fabric has a beautiful sheen to it and as it was brought to me as yardage, it was pieced by me, carefully matching the design. This is a complementary service that I offer.
Both quilt top and backing are always carefully pressed before loading onto my Longarm.
The quilt was trimmed after quilting and ready for binding when Marlene picked her quilt up.
Let me help you bring your quilting projects to completion.
Today is Thanksgiving in Canada, it is a day widely celebrated in Canada though it seems like many things quieter than the American Thanksgiving that is celebrated in November.
Still it marks the changing of seasons.
The last week began with way above normal temperatures as in the 30’s Celsius which was a welcome treat though a little too hot for many mid week we experienced a thunderstorm with a lot of rain and hail and back to colder days!
The view from my studio window is constantly changing… I do love the spring and summer views, then the changing colours and the leaves falling is beautiful too, though a reminder of the colder days to come.
The grandchildren have been visiting and having fun. Last week Grayson had his turn with the knitting machine…
After making his own beanie with some help from Pappa…
He got busy making another beanie for his Dad creating it himself from my yarn collection!
He was so excited and determined to make this really special gift for his Dad.
The knitting machines have been a fun addition to my crafting supplies and my hope is that all of the grands will enjoy using it.
I haven’t had as much time as I like for piecing…my postage stamp quilt will be something that I plan to slowly work on as my customer quilts take priority. Still it’s nice to have something I can spend time sewing as time allows.
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?
Our house was full of activity this week! We are truly blessed with grandchildren! Our time with them involves a lot of activities from soccer, quad and dirt biking and even target shooting (and other adventures which I will write about in another post).
Music to this grandmas ears is when Kaija who is almost 4 yrs asks if we can go to my studio and make something! She loves my scrap basket, looking and checking out my notions and my sewing machine.
This week she pulled some crumb piecing from the basket and we added some fusible batting to them and spent time together quilting the two pieces…just nice relaxing stitching using the walking foot and pink thread…her choice. Her job was the foot petal and some guiding with help of the quilt sand which. She loves to push the thread cutter and needle up and down buttons as well.
She was pretty proud of her work!
When we finished stitching she decided to add some colour to the back and very carefully wrote her name on each piece and coloured in the squares with a highlighter pen. The original plan was to make another pouch and she had picked out a pink zipper and fabric for a lining…instead she wanted to colour the back.
She proudly took her art home 😊 it may or may not come back to be turned into a pouch and that’s fine. I think it’s more important that she had fun and enjoyed the process and was allowed to make her project into what she envisioned!!
Kaija also spent a lot of time examining several different notions wondering what they were and what they were used for! I remember playing with my Moms sewing tools, I much preferred them over toys! I hope that she will continue to ask if we can make something 😊
My friend Ana Paula is offering Sewing Camps this summer in her fun bright studio. If you have budding artists and creators who are curious or interested in sewing you might consider checking out what she is offering! I know that as a child I would have been overjoyed!!!
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This stunning table runner left yesterday.
It was pieced using the pattern Those Trees by Zen Chic.
We chose to use faux trapunto under the larger trees giving them a little more of a pop with the dense quilting in the background.
Have you done Faux Trapunto before? If not, it is really easy using the Longarm but also manageable with your sewing machine.
With the Longarm, I load the batting as I would the backing and then the top. I using water soluble thread to sew around the trees and stars and afterwards very carefully trimmed the batting away as close to the seam as I could. This technique adds an extra layer of batting under certain areas of your quilt and in this case was well worth the effort.
The runner left yesterday making its way home to Ottawa, ready for binding. More pictures will follow when it’s finished.
For some reason so far anyways this winter seems to be milder than usual. We ended up with more snow in December than either of us can remember having and this month’s temperatures have not been nearly as cold as most winters and the forecast continues with milder temperatures.
The deer have begun their trails across the yard looking for food of course. It’s always interesting to see the new tracks in the snow each morning.
This week I spent time with friends at the Rec centre quilting, it’s always fun to see what other quilters are up to as well as having time to devote to my own project. As soon as I got home I laid my longtime gone quilt out to see how my borders look. I finished the checkerboard sections and all of the other blocks just need to be joined.
I have always loved the whole process of quilt making, and this quilt project has been so much fun with all of the variety of both blocks and fabrics.
My dolls are now in the safe loving arms of my granddaughter. She told me that she would take very good care of her new babies and her Mom has told me that she really is.
Liam told me yesterday that he really likes going to school…for the most part because he and his friends play soccer at recess. His report card reflects that he is also doing well in his studies. While I am thankful for all of the bonus time we had together during the school closures I am happy that the children now have the normalcy of in classroom learning and time with their friends as it should be.
And of course my days are filled with quality time with my Longarm! This beautiful modern quilt will soon be ready for binding!
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 