Tag: Quilting

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Quilting, Life and the Changing Season

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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!

Mummus Rug really adds to the Autumn feel doesn’t it!

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?

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Police Patch Quilts

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I am often contacted about the Police Patch quilts that I have made and my previous posts about them are often visited both here and on Pinterest.

Several years ago I was contacted by an officer who had an amazing collection of patches and wanted a quilt made with them for a friend who was retiring.

If you are interested in making a quilt like this…I started by choosing the largest patch and making the blocks 1 1/2 “ larger than that patch. Each patch was centred and stitched down (around the edges) using clear thread though I might choose a 60 or weight now that blends.

The block colour was as close as I could come to match the officers uniform. For fun, I used solid colours pulled from the patches for the corner stones and the fun binding.

I used my Longarm for the quilting though it could have been quilted on a domestic machine as well.

Not long after making the above quilt I was commissioned to make a second one for another officer.

After posting pictures on this blog I was again commissioned to make another patch quilt.

Do you have a patch collection?

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Butterfly Quilt

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This is a recent customer quilt that left my studio quilted, trimmed and ready for binding.

At first glance, it would seem that a butterfly pantograph or quilting design would be the perfect and easy choice for this quilt. It would have been a fine choice of course. Though a closer look shows the pieced flowers on the top and then there’s the backing to consider.

With dragonflies gracing the backing…I chose a fun simple floral pantograph to work with the piecing on the front which really didn’t compete with the back.

Many of my customers leave the choice of quilting designs to me, which is such a fun part of the process. Some customers choose their quilting design with me from my many many pantographs and some request pantographs that I don’t yet own that I order for their quilts…(at no extra charge to them)

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

August Fun!

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We have had a great summer filled with fun filled days of Grand Parenting!

One super fun activity has been when Kaija comes over and asks to sew! Her last visit involved making a card and gift for her Moms Birthday.

Kaija loves digging into my scrap basket and I love both watching her and letting her decide what to use. For this project she chose the outside fabric because Mommy loves rainbows! The bright yellow lining made her smile and she knows where my zipper drawer is and chose pink.

We spent some time looking through my threads and she chose an almost fluorescent pink for the quilting.

I of course took care of the cutting and most of the pressing…she loves to push the buttons on my sewing machine and push the pedal while we sew and quilt.

The soft wavy quilting using the walking foot is a great and fun way to show a child how to quilt. Some of the steps she watched and helped.

After adding one of her favourite stickers she wrapped her gift and card…

I am planning to find a platform for my sewing machine pedal for her next visit and will plan a simple project that she can sew on her own.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Quilting

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Summer is so short here and this summer has been busy, we try to make the most of the nice weather and time with the grandchildren and family.

Some days I quilt early morning but in the Summer it often waits for the evenings! This was a recent quilt that will be going to its piecers friend who loves dogs.

I used the pantograph Popcorn for the quilting.

The quilt is trimmed and ready for binding! (The backing was also made with yardage that I pieced which is another complimentary service that I offer my customers along with trimming)

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Cupcake Quilt

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This quilt was so much fun to work on!

The cupcakes are on the backing but are so adorable I decided to name it the Cupcake Quilt!

The bright happy colours along with the fun pieced backing called for some whimsy in the quilting which led me to choose the pantograph Tickle Too with its combination of swirls, curls and feathers.

Quilting a pieced backing such as this can be a challenge on the Longarm but with a little extra time and planning it can be done. In this case the quilt is truly two sided!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Beautiful Blue Bargello Quilt

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This amazing Bargello quilt just left the studio.

It measured 100” square and the fabric choices were perfect to really showcase this pattern!

We chose the pantograph New Wave to not only add more movement to this quilt but also to add enough density to secure the piecing in the quilt.

Quilting density is always an important consideration when choosing a design. Enough density to secure the piecing is important especially if the quilt is to used and laundered.

Of course a design that compliments the pattern is important, maybe something that adds to the movement, plays quietly in the background, or adds more dimension or interest to the piecing.

In this case we went with the movement.

Here’s a peek at the backing…. It was difficult getting a clear picture of the stitching, if you click on it it’s a better view…😊

Contact me to discuss completing your quilting projects!

Wendysquilting@gmail.com

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Special Pink Quilt

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When it was discovered that our newest grand would be a girl…her Mom requested a pink and peachy pink quilt! Music to my ears and the pictures that were shared with me were scrappy quilts…even more music to my ears!

I just had to use my pink Oliso iron for this project!

Erik and I had a lot of fun choosing the fabrics for this quilt, starting at Hannah Johnson’s in Duluth MN…thankfully Megan was working and she helped pull together a fantastic selection of fabrics for us! You can follow her on Instagram megface_makes

On the way home we stopped at the quilt shop One Old Loon in Two Harbours and added more pinks to the collection…and of course I shopped my stash.

Oh, one of the fabrics at Hannah’s that I fell in love with ended up not in the cutting pile!! Thankfully Megan was able to send me this super cute print!

Using 3 1/2” squares I somewhat randomly placed them onto the design wall making sure no two the same were next to each other. I didn’t tweak it too much as I find with this type of quilt you can play with it forever and still will find things to change.

The quilt was so much fun to both piece and quilt. I used the pantograph Two of Hearts and of course used Pink 40 wt thread (glide)

I love the backing! Those puppies are so adorable!!

I love hand stitching the binding, it’s a labour of love and an opportunity to sit and relax. Machine stitching binding is popular and for donation quilts that will be heavily laundered it is more practical but for my personal quilts I still prefer the look of hand work.

Of course the very best thing about making a quilt for a new Grandchild is meeting the baby.

Welcome to our family Olivia Lynn!!!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Some Butterflies!

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I’ve been working on a very special project that is so close to being finished. I will share more about this quilt after it has been gifted!

After showing the quilt to my friend Ana Paula she suggested a little more fun be added to the project and so I added some of her thread by Wonderfil Glamore which is one that she designed that also goes with her fabric collections!

My Juki Haruka made sewing with this 12 wt thread a breeze!! So much so that I wanted to play with it a little more and made this little pouch.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Foxy Critter Quilt

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I have quilted several different critter quilts for one of my customers. This one, the fox required whiskers and I was asked if I could embroider them for her. Which I did happily.

I offer Longarm quilting services and to me that includes things like finishing touches like whiskers!

I chose to quilt this sweet quilt with the pantograph Waterworld. It is a little denser but with all of the small piecing in this quilt I feel that the extra quilting will add to the longevity of a quilt that will no doubt be loved and heavily used.

I love this gorgeous orange she chose for the backing!!

The quilt is trimmed and ready for binding…and then gifting.