Professional Longarm Quilting Services
The second of two quilts that Pam designed herself is ready for binding. It is quilted with a pantograph for the background and then custom in and around the appliqué.
Some of the appliqué was also stuffed also known at trapunto, this did create some challenges in the quilting thankfully my Millie was up to the task.
I was asked what the pattern was for the top below. It is by Thimble Blossoms and called Dwell 2. It was a nice project to piece and because I purchased it as a kit there were very few decisions to be made.
Sometimes and in some seasons of life it’s nice to just cut sew and press. I was drawn to this project from quilting one for a customer.
We have had very little rain for months and have enjoyed some really nice weather even into November.
The forecast for tomorrow is for rain 75-100mm for our area and for those further from the lake (Thunder Bay is built on the shore of Lake Superior) will receive the precipitation in snow….and so it begins or so it seems!
I have been enjoying some playtime piecing curves and playing with colour. I had to laugh at myself the other day as I was so absorbed in what I was doing that I made a pretty silly mistake…funny how we don’t always see that what we are doing is wrong…
Instead I realized it was late and time to quit for the night. The next morning I was able to quickly take it apart and use the right background.
I enjoy curved piecing and this project is allowing for a lot of practice.
If you have been a quilter for any length of time you most likely know about the above term and possibly possess one or more or several UFO’s.
I personally prefer to think of them as works in progress. For what ever reason some projects need the next step maybe a new idea, additional fabric or time to complete. Most of mine are waiting to be quilted and because I put customer quilts first that pile grows. One thing that I am careful to do is to choose and purchase backings so that they are ready for quilting. I also have binding fabrics on hand.
I usually do personal long-arming over the Christmas holidays which will be here before I know it. So it’s time to plan.
Oh and there are more, thankfully I believe that they can become leader ender projects this coming year.
My Moda Block Heads top that I recently completed is also on my list for quilting.
It was with all of those projects on my mind that made me really think hard about starting the colour collective!
My Longtime Gone is still in process… I am still really loving that project and will continue to plug away at it it’s at the halfway mark. I completed the court house step blocks last week.
So why did I decide to jump into a new project? Because piecing and colour play is fun and relaxing and eventually I will get it all done and if not I am having having fun trying!
It’s been an interesting first week of November. Some mornings I have woken to a white world and this mornings temperature was 10C. Some days were so pretty with blue sky and sunshine and others were darker and a little gloomy.
Unfortunately when I took pictures of the quilt below the daylight was not working in my favour, so the quilt is not showing it’s true brightness. I still want to share it as it’s a pretty quilt and the quilting still shows in the picture. I used the pantograph Here and There.
Thankfully this one turned out better.
Oh and the butter yellow beautiful backing really shows the pretty stitches!
Both the above quilt and then next ones had been waiting for a while to be quilted. They were both a bit of a walk down memory lane as I recognized both their fabrics and patterns.
The first quilt shop in Thunder Bay was called Patchworks, Diana the owner ran fantastic classes, clubs and programs. I often still quilt tops that originated from that shop, I also often hear Quilter’s talk of how they miss that shop. Diana retired several years ago.
There also used to be a chain store called Fannys Fabrics, it was huge and had a fantastic corner of quilting fabrics, and so nice for me in those days they also had a corner that was set up for children to play. Some of the fabrics in the next quilt reminded me of that store. We Quilter’s still miss it even though it has been gone for many years.
Back to Lorna’s quilts.
Diana’s shop was well known for its warm earthy country colours. Thimbleberries was really big in that era of quilting. This isn’t one of them, it just brought it to mind.
The majority of my customers like to have me trim their quilts, which I offer as a free service. It is a lot easier to trim on the Pantograph side of my machine.
Lorna requested that I provide the backings for her quilts…a great excuse to visit Donna and her quilt shop in Pass Lake. I mentioned that in a recent blog post but wanted to share that is where these backings were purchased.
Oh how I love blue quilts! This one made my heart sing the moment it arrived on my doorstep! I could hardly wait to quilt it however it had to wait its turn. Well that turn arrived and the quilt has gone home.
I love piecing and did check out the Laundry Basket Mystery Quilt and considered for a moment jumping in, however I had a couple projects on the go already and customer quilts in the que.
This wallhanging was pieced by my customer Mary, it was a group project that she did with her quilt friends in Airdrie Alberta. What a fun quilt and great wallhanging for her sewing room.
Life has been very full and heavy at times lately. My friend Kim and I decided we needed a visit with Donna at her quilt shop.
I was needing some wide backs for customer quilts and Donna always has such great wide backs. I was able to find just the right ones and even one for my Moda Block head quilt.
For those who don’t know, her shop is called Fuelled by Fabric and is usually a mobile shop using a refurbished bus that her husband found online.
Well I am Canadian so it is colour, though I am very much looking forward to taking part in the Color Collective (of course from the States).
I have never really been able to decide on one favourite colour as it seems to always change, though in the last years I do find a lot of comfort in blues.
In my early years of quilting I loved the softer colours and gravitated towards very soft colours probably because I found them to be soothing I needed the safety and comfort in those challenging years raising children as a single Mom working in a stressful office.
My friend Alva was always encouraging me to play with more colour to use real colours true reds for instance. She had such an eye for colour. She left me with with many lessons and colour wheels and fabric examples.
Over the years I became tired of the soft pastel quilts. Lately I am craving more, more colour, more contrast perhaps but maybe more wow in my choices! Maybe just change. Life should evolve and change, right?
So now, I am ready to embrace Colour and learn more about it. I have the tools, colour wheels, books on colour theory and of course information on the web.
If your are at the how do I understand Colour and Quilts stage of your journey I recommend Karen Browns you tube videos she has some very good and easy to follow videos to help you understand Colour Theory.
https://www.justgetitdonequilts.com/blog/categories/colour
Her site and You Tube videos are a fantastic resource for not only new quilters but also seasoned quilters as there is always something new to learn.
Where are you on your Colour Journey?
I love this recent customer quilt, it was one of two, this one has such a fun colourful backing.
I spent part of yesterday rearranging some of my fabrics and checking through my collection of solids…what a surprise to realize how much I have accumulated over the years. Some was gifted from a precious friend who has been along my journey for many years making the up coming plans even more fun.
2022 is coming and before I know it will be here, I am considering goals for myself. I not only plan to work with solids but hope to plan a few leader ender projects and see where that takes me. I have always loved scrappy quilts and I certainly have more than enough variety to play.
My quilting journey brings so much to my life!
We have been incredibly spoiled this fall with warm days. A couple of days ago the high was actually 20C which is unusual for this time of year in this area. Now that the October full moon has passed the colder air seems to be upon us at least it sure feels like it this morning! It’s -4C with a feels like -8C…
Liam has been with us this week and I remind him that in a month or two those temperatures will seem warm! Still it sure makes it hard to crawl out of a warm bed in the morning and we will very soon be turning on the furnace.
We have been busy around here getting ready for winter. The gardens are empty and tilled, the pool is covered and parts stored away. It is time to give in and bring the boots in from the shed and tuck away the summer shoes.
Thankfully my quilting keeps me warm and happy. My customer quilts delight me. I love the transformation from top to quilt!
I continue to work away on my Longtime Gone quilt. The most recent block is trip around the world. It was laid out for weeks before I finally sat down and sewed.
This block consists of 121 1.5” squares. I have fun choosing different backgrounds for these blocks.
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 