There are so many amazing Panels available now and this one is no exception. I absolutely love my customers borders and colour choices that she used to grow the panels and add her person touch to them.
She is a longtime quilter and at 86 yrs she is still going strong! A fantastic role model.
When choosing the quilting design I was considering one pantograph that really adds to the movement and look of the Northern lights however feel it didn’t do anything for the lake.
When the design Ripples came to mind I knew that it would perfectly fit the bill.
Thread weight and colour make a big difference in the final outcome. When I don’t want the thread to steal the show I choose a 60 weight which sits beautifully in the background for the most part. I chose a very soft blue that does show up minimally where it contrasts.
Her quilts were trimmed and ready for binding when I delivered them to her…(both complementary services)
My days do seem to fly by, I spend several hours most days working on customer quilts. As much as I love that I also really love piecing quilts.
Joining Tara Faughnans block studies this season has been a fantastic addition to my quilting practice with both learning a new block and playing with a palette of her choosing it really does make for great fun in my life.
I will share more but for now these are a couple of my blocks from the first month that I plan to mount on canvas.
Other samples that I have made are earmarked for some other fun ideas.
My Small world quilt blocks almost fill my design wall and my postage stamp quilt continues to have a few blocks pieced and is slowly being completed.
A friend of mine suggested trying an eye pillow at bedtime made with flax seed and lavender…so I did make myself one and a few more for others…
With the winter months approaching there should be more time for studio play.
We are so wealthy in Grandchildren and have had the pleasure of their company and all the fun and joy that they bring with them!
On a personal note and adding to what I have written in previous posts…. A year ago tomorrow I made a decision to remove certain things from my diet. Alcohol was one and following that dispite for the most part eating a healthy diet I have made changes and tweaked it to better match my health and wellbeing goals.
There is so much to learn about food and it’s not always easy to navigate away from ultra processed foods but it is worth the effort. The Yuka app has been very helpful.
Adding more exercise and learning more about what we women need at my stage of life for bone,muscle and heart health has been enlightening as well! I have so much fabric and so many ideas that healthy longevity is a big time personal goal.
We have enjoyed an amazing long autumn, this picture of course was taken a month or so again as the leaves have all fallen now.
We had snow yesterday, which made for a pretty walk late yesterday. I do love the crisper air for walks. The forecasted temperature today will quickly melt what was left behind yesterday.
Of course since my last post I have been busy in my studio working on customer quilts. I will share more about the last month or so in my next post.
This post I am sharing a quilt that its maker really wasn’t sure how she felt about it, it’s an early one of hers and like she said if she was doing it again she would have chosen some of the fabrics differently.
That said, it’s a perfect Autumn quilt!
Most of my customers leave the decision of quilting design to me and this quilt called for the design Leaf Pile! I love the density of stitching along with the various leaves adding more visual appeal to an already great quilt!
Her quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!
This next picture shows how it looked just before coming off the leaders. I am often asked why my quilts have a smoother finish front and back. I do not float quilt tops unless there is a reason that it’s necessary. That way I have more control over the tension of both top and backing while I am quilting.
I have often thought about making myself a design board. Tara showed us how to make easy ones as part of the introduction to her block studies and I had planned to make simple and fast ones like that.
Then…the other night I came across a YouTube video by Gina Tell and I just couldn’t resist giving it a try!
I already had some foam board, and oh so many batting scraps and left over bindings.
Gluing the batting to the board and sewing on the binding was easy. I did use a glue stick to hold the binding onto the back as I used the duct tape to finish the board. The white duct tape came from the dollar store as did the foam board.
Yes I am having fun playing! After spending my day working on the longarm and preparing today’s quilt for loading, the evening was mine!
I had initially only cut a couple of strips from each colour that I am working on, so had to start with some prep work!
Next Kudos to https://www.madaboutpatchwork.com as I joined Tara Faughnans Block Studies this season later than some and her palette for this month had sold out and I wanted them. I have been ordering from Mad About Patchwork for a while and their service is outstanding!! The package is always like getting a present…they often include a little gift as well! I do love to use Kona for my solids and this shop reliably carries all of their colours!
Also added a totally impulsive purchase just for fun!!
So last night, when my work for the day was finished, I gifted myself the evening to press and cut into the palette and begin playing! More on that soon.
My friend Louisa posted more of her work this morning that keeps inspiring me to gift myself playtime.
We have been gifted, in my opinion anyways with an extra long stretch of summer weather! With that though the bears in the area continue.
As much as I love walking out here and especially on my own at my own pace…though I love running into my friends and visiting too…I know myself and an encounter with a bear would be hard to overcome.
Instead I am playing at other ways to work on my fitness and yesterday my Dad gave me a step!
For many years when my girls were small I took step aerobics 3 times a week and loved it! Now I have a step and found an instructor that I like on YouTube. We have a treadmill and I can use it but I find it boring…
I have always loved fitness and know how important it is as I age and if I am going to be able to do all the things that I hope to do in these next decades of my life I need to be fit!
I am also reading this book…which really encourages retired people to consider exercise their new job….though I am not retired!
My Dad has adopted healthy living and fitness into his life even more so these last years and at 88 yrs he has spent his summer actively enjoying golf and his bike and is always reading, learning and trying new things.
On another but related subject I had been on the fence about joining Tara Faughnans Block Studies Collective this season.
My biggest issue was the time as I am a full time longarm quilter and I love piecing and have no shortage of projects or fabric for that matter.
So what made me decide to jump in? At my brother’s 60th birthday dinner on Sunday I mentioned it and the response was so positive, have fun and keep learning, go for it! The Block Studies Collective is about play and exploration, playing with colour, all things that I love.
Also winter is coming and with that a lot more time for quilting! Tracking shows that my palette arrives tomorrow so last night I pulled some scraps out and played at the end of my day! So many ideas and so much fun!!
On last thing about this season…a friend and I were saying to each other how tired we feel making the what’s for supper decision these days… I have been making that decision for most of my adult life. She had recently started ordering Hello Fresh. Two of my daughters have used it before and enjoyed it so…
That one was a favourite among several favourites, it’s been a fun change. We only eat in restaurants and very seldomly when we travel, and this has added so many great prompts for future meals!
This fun quilt recently left my studio quilted,trimmed and ready for binding in plenty of time to hang for Halloween!
The quilt did present a challenge in that the witches legs hang freely. Using the quilting design Frite-nite I carefully worked around the legs not loosing any of the fun design.
A quilt that was pieced as a Block of the Month turned out beautifully! It’s full of different designs and colours and was a delight to quilt!
I quilted it using the quilting design Nocturne Feathers by Bethanne Nemesh. I love the flow and density of her designs and as a result offer several of hers.
I have been professionally quilting for others for over 20 years and have collected many designs and am always adding more for my customers to choose from. If you have a design in mind and I don’t have it I will help you to find it and add it to my collection.
This quilt was trimmed and ready for binding at pick up!!
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 