Tag: Piecing

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Grandmas Sampler Quilt

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This Sampler quilt was added in with my customers group of tops that she brings me once a year, sometimes more. Anyways she included this quilt and said one wasn’t hers and she was sure that I knew which one it was.

The quilt belongs to her niece and was pieced by her Grandma. It’s a beautiful example of talent and some blocks that take advanced skill.

This type of quilt was popular when I first began quilting almost 40 years ago. They were a great way to learn different skills without making a whole quilt with the same block.

I chose the pantograph Here and There for the quilting design. Some of the blocks had a little fullness that this type of design helps to flatten without causing puckers.

It also could have been a candidate for custom quilting however it won’t be a show quilt it will become a cherished gift from a grandma.

This quilt was trimmed and ready for binding and returning to my customers niece.

You can see a glimpse of the quilt on my Longarm that I was working on when suddenly the lighting from my window was cooperating for a photo shoot!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Feathers, Swirls and Squares…and a glimpse

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The pantograph Feather Grande was chosen for this quilt by its maker. The design with its feathers and swirls added such a beautiful layer of quilting!

Using a backing fabric that reads like a solid really showcases the beautiful quilting design.

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

There were two quilts trimmed and ready for binding for this customer this one however she wants to reveal at the upcoming quilt show this spring so we decided to just offer a glimpse of her spectacular quilt.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Pouch Fun!

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Sometimes it feels good to focus on a smaller project that I can finish in one or two evenings.

The Holland Pouch pattern is really easy to follow and there are tutorials on YouTube As well. Once I had made a few of these it was easy to play with sizes and make those as well.

These ones were made with the left over fabrics from My Aunty Mary. She had recovered her dining room chairs with it. These pouches are for her.

A peek at the inside.

I had so much fun making the next one, the sparkly fabric was gifted to me by my friend Betty and my Granddaughter Minka now owns this pouch. How fun are all of the zipper pulls and zipper by the yard to play with!

Kaija and Minka love to look through my zipper drawer and choose what they love best.

And another sweet little pouch to match!

These pouches were made weeks ago. My Longarm and I are very busy.

Enjoy your day! 💝 it’s a gift!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Daughters Quilt…(part 4)

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The previous 3 posts were quilts pieced by my customers Mom, this quilt was pieced by my customer. She told me that she decided that since she inherited her mom’s sewing that she should make a quilt.

It was quilted with the pantograph swirls.

When the sashing in a quilt are dark as they are in this quilt, using a 60 weight thread and a colour that blends with the lighter fabrics works well. You can still see the partial spirals in the sashing however they don’t jump out as they would with a heavier thread.🪡

The backing fabric was a fun find, it works so well with the quilt top and using the same fabric only cut on the bias for the binding added more interest.

I was such a pleasure to work on these four quilts!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Finishing a Mothers Quilts part 3

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Framing scrappy 16 patch blocks with a unifying colour clearly ties all of the random fabrics together in this quilt. It is the third of my customers Moms quilts.

It always amazes me when I am working on scrappy quilts how many different prints there are out there! I recently read where a quilter asked if any others look at scrap quilts to see if they have any of the fabrics!! I admit that I do and am amazed at how many I don’t have!

I chose the pantograph Here and There with its heart like shapes it has such a nice soft flow with great coverage and the hearts of course make one think of a Mothers love.

Look at this backing!! I admit that it was fun shopping for the backings for these quilts and this is one that just makes me smile.

I again chose a very dark green binding to frame the quilt it matches some of the fabrics in the 16 patch blocks and is very close to the dark green in the backing.

It’s a wonderful feeling to have completed another quilters work for her in order for her daughter and other family members to enjoy 💗

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Finishing a Mothers Quilts part 2

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This is the second of three quilts that I recently completed for my customer that were pieced by her Mom.

In my imagination, her Mom was using up her stash or perhaps her scrap bins to make the three quilts as they are definitely scrappy. She tied all of her blocks on this one together with inset triangles and border with the same butterfly border.

I chose the pantograph Rhododendron which added softness against the angles as well as coverage of the piecing.

The backing chosen for this quilt is absolutely gorgeous and a perfect fit for this quilt.

I found this beautiful dark green fabric for the binding and cutting the strips on the binding added a little more dimension than cutting straight on grain would have given.

I personally like to make my bindings 2 1/4” and use the edge of my walking foot as my guide when attaching the binding to the front of the quilt.

When I make bindings for my customers and or attach them to their quilts for them to hand sew down I cut the strips to their preference as 2 1/4” can be a little more challenging to stitch down.

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

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.