Tag: Scrap Quilts

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Week Between

wendysquilting

Let’s start with my morning view!!! That looks more like it for this time of year ☃️

Somehow the week between Christmas and New Years has flown by! Not without a lot of fun. We had Grand parenting days. While there was no snow so no snowmobiling, Erik took the kids on Quad rides instead.

If I haven’t mentioned it before we have several trails throughout our property, we really enjoy them and visiting the pond as well. Well the Grandchildren love the trails!

Grayson decided that he wanted to learn some sewing and asked if he could learn to hand sew! Maybe this was inspiring

The second of two pink quilts

Grayson even got Pappa involved in the sewing!

Grayson is getting really good on the machine as well, working on the bag that he is making

Kaija discovered my newest scissors and enjoyed snipping scraps and cutting out the sloths from a trimmed piece.

Kaija and I made a bag together, she likes to use the foot petal while I guide the fabric. She loves choosing the fabrics as well. it won’t be long before she is using the machine.

She was really silly when I took the picture…how scary does that marker look. She is really careful about colouring though.

Minka and Romee joined in one afternoon! Grayson and Pappa built a fort for the girls. They made full use of it and had a lot of fun together.

I love this picture my daughter sent of Minka’s fort at home, she is inside with a quilt sleeping and using Romees quilt to cover the fort! I love to see the quilts I make in action!!

Today is the 19th anniversary of my Longarm quilting machines arrival, I also like to call it her birthday. My Millennium is an amazing machine and I have a special treat for her that I will share soon.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Value of Quilting…and please let it snow ☃️

wendysquilting

December like November seems to be flying by! We had a dusting of snow overnight however with the projected temperatures it will disappear by noon and now we have unseasonably warm temperatures for the rest of the month and no sign of snow! It might not be a white Christmas this year.

One of the quilts that I have finished is a fantastic example of using colour values in piecing a quilt top along with the value of saving and using scraps.

Marilyn has made several of these quilts, one for each of her grands I believe. I have met two of her granddaughters that absolutely treasure their Grandma and also her gift of quilts.

As a professional Longarm quilter for almost 19 years and a quilt maker for close to 40 years I know how much time and love goes into making quilts for others. (Along with the expense)

I have always strived to give each quilt job my full attention and providing my customers with quality workmanship.

I was recently asked how many quilts I work on a month, following me on social media she is able to see many of the quilts that I am entrusted with.

My response is that it depends!

It depends on the size of the quilt as well as what that particular order entails.

I spend time preparing each quilt before loading onto my Longarm. I sew yardage for backings for some and also carefully press the quilt top and then the backing in order to prevent issues afterwards. Such as puckers and pleats.

This isn’t a race, I like to give each quilt the time and attention that I give to my own.

I absolutely love quilting and spend an average of 8 hours most days quilting. (I enjoy a short commute to work).

This is a busier season and most of my customers let me know in advance if they are working on a quilt for Christmas and so have their quilt placed in my queue.

If someone asks to fit one in before Christmas who isn’t in my queue I will do my best to work a little overtime and fit them in. 🎄

Marilyn’s quilt is trimmed and ready for binding.

Let me help you bring your quilting projects to completion.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Busy Day in December!

wendysquilting

This memory popped up, Liam has always enjoyed quilts and quickly crawled into the middle of this customer quilt just as she arrived to pick it up! Thankfully she was delighted to see how much he liked it. (Liam is now 12yrs old)

I am currently quilting another half square amazing quilt by Marilyn… I have lost count however this may be the 5th or 6th this was taken on the weekend I did get a few more rows quilted after this picture…however….

Yesterday we had a fun filled day with our grandson 3 yr old Jaxson!

His Mom sent us this picture she took on the way home. He is big into dinosaurs and the puppet in his hands was a gift we bought last summer but when he first saw it, it was scary…yesterday he told us it’s not scary anymore.

After supper, I attended our local Quilt Guild meeting, we had 3 in person meetings and have now resumed Zoom meeting for the winter…I was thankful for that after such a full day.

We enjoyed guest speaker Jane Z Haworth

http://www.janehawortth.com

She did a wonderful and informative talk about her Collage Quilting…she was very inspiring.

The day also held a big surprise which I will share a little later when we have some daylight. Our hours of daylight are noticeably shorter each day right now, making me look forward to the Solstice.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

O Christmas Tree

wendysquilting

This Christmas tree quilt was made using a pattern and fabrics by Edita Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. It was such a pleasure to quilt and enjoy having in my studio!

We chose the pantograph Rhapsody which played on the theme in many of the fabrics.

I like to choose a design that compliments the quilt not necessarily one that echoes the design. Thread colour and weight of thread also make a big difference in the outcome of the quilting.

I personally find it very difficult not to be inspired by the quilts that I work on! Edita’s quilts often have the small piecing that I love to do and the appliqué ❤️

I love the way the quilting shows on the back of the quilt!

Trimmed and ready for binding!

Let me help you to complete your quilting projects!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

November

wendysquilting

I am not entirely sure how December has arrived when I was just getting used to it being November!

The very best part of November in my books is that it’s Liam’s Birthday…he turned 12 last week.

My Dad hosted a family dinner in Liam’s honour, he smoked a turkey that Liam’s Mom provided and the rest of the dinner was made by my daughter Katie and I. Family dinners are so much easier when everyone helps!

I wish that I had taken a picture of his gift and reaction to opening it. You see he had requested money for an upcoming trip in February…this request was made in the summer. So to make it fun, I put 4 $1. USD bills in a peanut butter jar as a liner to look like the label…then filled a third of it with coins and wrapped more bills into the centre of the coins and topped the jar up with our remaining Halloween treats. The gift was a total success.

As his Grandma I have enjoyed his childhood so much, we have spent so much time together and he has truly brought so much joy in my life. These last months I have noticed how much he has grown and is definitely less of a little boy. I am sure by his next birthday he will be taller than I am, his life is busy with soccer and school and friends as it should be…though he has told me he still plans to be here in the summer and our annual trip to the Dells.

When my 3 year old granddaughter Minka let me know that she wanted an all pink quilt, I happily got on that…I am also making one for her sister. Pink is Minka’s favourite colour right now. The quilt is similar to Olivia’s baby quilt that I made last summer.

A night time shot of my design wall.

I have been collecting pink fabric for awhile now, I took advantage of Road17N’s Black Friday sale and ordered backing fabric and a couple more metres of pinks…what a great surprise to find more pink fabrics inside the parcel a few days later!

I really try to allow for an hour of piecing every evening after I finish working on the Longarm. I may have to add an extra hour in the morning in order to finish both quilts.

My presentation of my quilting journey went well at the November Quilt Guild meeting.

Welcome to December…

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Disappearing Hourglass Quilt

wendysquilting

Monday…was my presentation of my Quilting Journey at the Thunder Bay Quilters Guild meeting. It is the last in person meeting until the spring.

It was really important to me, to show my quilts in person as I also like people to see and yes feel free to touch my quilts!

One of the quilts that I was asked about after my presentation was my Hourglass quilt. My friend Alva and I challenged each other to make them.

I made mine with Kaffe Fasset fabrics with a solid white background.

Alva’s in Batiks

Hers was quilted shortly after she made hers (using the pantograph Starswirl) this was the last quilt that Alva made, she had attached her binding herself, and it was the only quilt of hers that I hand stitched the binding for her as she was no longer able to.

I had to tuck mine away for a while.…

When I was ready, I quilted mine with the pantograph Rhododendron. it also began my run on Kaffe quilts that I made…which I did show some of on Monday.

We used the tutorial by Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt to make our quilts. It’s a fun, easy quilt to make and one that really showcases beautiful fabrics.

Preparing for my presentation, was a journey for me personally as I decided which quilts to show. I hope that new quilters noticed my progress from beginner to where I am now in my journey and it encouraged them in their own journey.

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

A Few Days in November…Quilting and Life

wendysquilting

Sunday night I prepared my studio for Monday…the life of a Longarm Quilter…

The quilt on the right was ready for trimming and the one on the left for loading.

On Monday I spent most of my Day loading and quilting the customer quilt on the left in the above picture after trimming the quilt on the right.

After an early supper I packed up and joined the girls at the Rec centre for some relaxation, visiting and personal piecing… my postage stamp quilt project is perfect for these evenings.

On Tuesday after spending my morning quilting the customer quilt on the left in the above picture I gave myself the afternoon “off” to help Erik outside.

In November when the temperatures are in the double digit range on the positive side it’s a real treat! (Just a note that I am Canadian and I am talking Celsius) it reached 13 degrees on the 14th!

We loaded three truck loads of firewood to bring home along with a couple of other things. We also unloaded one truck load of firewood…let me tell you, our supper was well earned.

After a short rest after supper, Erik headed back outside and I to my studio to finish quilting the quilt on my Longarm… as a treat and to wind down from the day I spent a little time in my sewing room working on my postage stamp quilt.

Wednesday began with preparing the next quilt, I always like to press each quilts backing and top which gives me the opportunity to look everything over before loading.

This quilt will come off the frame today.

I was asked a question at quilting the other day… it was how I can sew all day and not have upper back pain?

I make it a habit to change activities through out the day, I take breaks to stretch and move around, sometimes hopping on the glider in my studio for a bit between rows of longarming.

In my sewing room, my ironing station requires getting out of my chair and standing to press what I am working on. When all else fails my back massager is a very good friend!!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Joan’s Quilt

wendysquilting

This quilt left the studio yesterday. I love Joan’s quilts, every one of them is different and fun!

I chose the pantograph Tickle Too, it has some feathers and swirls that just added more visual interest in this scrappy quilt. I really enjoy hand guiding my Longarm Quilting Machine, after quilting for so many years it has truly become a friend.

Joan couldn’t remember the pattern that she used, other than she found it on Pinterest. Does any one recall the name of it?

The quilt was trimmed and not shown but the binding was also prepared and ready for binding at pick up.

The beautiful fabric with the large Hibiscus blooms deserved…in my opinion…for the be pattern matched.

It does take a little extra time to match the pattern when preparing the backing, however I feel that it is time well spent. This is a service that is complimentary for my customers.

Taking a little extra time to prepare a quilt for loading onto the Longarm helps me to achieve the beautiful results that I am happy and proud to show my customers.

Let me help you bring your quilting projects to completion!

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Scrappy Fun

wendysquilting

My design wall is loaded with blocks made with Betty’s 2 1/2” squares. She gifted me a large bag of left over squares from a project she started and after one quilt she was done, and passed them to me. After several years I finally just started sewing them together with a loose rule of light and dark.

I will play with the placement of the 16 patch blocks before sewing them into the top.

It’s been a wonderful project for playing with my sewing toys as I find the process very relaxing…I hadn’t really been thinking of a what’s next project until I came across a picture from Gigi’s Thimble http://www.gigisthimble.com/2021/12/postage-stamp-quilt.html

When I first began making quilts…almost 40 years ago…I was first drawn to quilting by scrap quilts. I also remember wondering how I would ever accumulate enough fabric to make something like the above quilt!

Well after almost 40 years of quilt making I now know how and I have enough to make many!

And so this project began….first I made a smaller block with 1 1/2” squares…

Which would be ok but would take a lot longer than I think I want this project to take.

After watching some tutorials on postage stamp quilts I have decided on a variation of Kimberly Jolly’s tutorial on youtube.

And so it begins!

This will take some time as I have other projects on the go as well. My piecing time is usually limited to an hour or so in the evenings as my customer quilts come first.

It will be an easy project to take and work on at the Rec centre on Mondays which my plan is to add back into my routine…

Wendy's Longarm Quilting, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Bubbles and Quilting

wendysquilting

Most of my customers ask me to choose the quilting design for them, when I first began my long-arming career…almost 20 years ago this would often cause what was referred to as the stand and stare!

Back then I was a member of a chat group called LACHAT and we used to joke about how we would clean house instead of settle on a design. We also really worked together sharing ideas with each other and would post quilt pictures for suggestions.

It didn’t take long before I learnt to trust myself and my creativity to make my decisions.

This recent quilt of Joan’s was so much fun to work on! I decided to let the circles in some of the fabrics guide my choice and quilted it using the pantograph Bubbles.

The solid backing really showcases the quilting doesn’t it?

I usually prepare Joan’s binding for her and this quilt was no exception.

Let me help you finish your quilting projects!