Such a pretty quilt that I filled with freehand feathers and swirls, some echoing and a little bit of ruler work. My only regret is that I didn’t take a picture of the whole quilt finished.
Tag: Wendy’s Quilting
Brrrrr
It’s not officially winter, I don’t mind the snow, it’s actually pretty but who said we needed to be plunged into the deep freeze? Hopefully we will be spared the unbearable cold windchill weather over the holidays!
Life as usual is hectic, full and busy. One of my quilt job finishes includes this police patch quilt using 82 different patches and the state colours of West Virginia. It now resides in Florida.
Speaking of southern states, my daughter, Son in Law and 3 1/2 yr old grandsons will be here for Christmas!!
My grandson Liam celebrated turning two by adding at least 50 vehicles to his fleet!
This Years Fish
One of the panels in a recent quilt. I have had so much fun running my machine on manual and drawing with it! I’ve used monopoly for the top thread for the fish and Bottom line for background and bobbin.
Jeannie’s Star Quilt
I know I haven’t been posting much this summer, despite having so much to share. I’ve been busy in my studio though, here’s a little peek.
The Quilting Part of Quilting (why this longarmer loves to quilt)
My quilting journey has taken me through so many phases, styles, patterns, loves, likes and dislikes. It really all started when I watched “Little House on the Prairie” and fell in LOVE with their “blankets”. When I said to my Mom how much I loved them, she casually remarked “oh those are just quilts and only poor people make those” I guess that growing up on a farm during the depression influenced her opinion at the time. My Mom now quilts too.
So It began with a love for the scrappier looking quilts and I made several, some were hand quilted and some simply machine quilted on my old singer. Fabric sources were hard to come by at that time.
Over the years I’ve used many different patterns, and for the most part stayed in the soft to pastel line of colours, and really enjoyed the emergence of the “Moda” fabric lines. Lately I have been emerging from that box as future posts will reveal!
When my Longarm arrived I joined the Moda University Kit club at the Fatquartershop and made and quilted many of those quilts and proudly gifted them to family. I have several Fatquartershop block of the month quilts in various stages of completion and I’ve also been busy these last 8 years quilting for others.
It’s always so much fun at our Local show to see my customers quilts on display! Here are a few of them from last weekends show.
When I first started Longarm Quilting for others, it was to supplement my income allowing me as a single parent, to be at home while I raised my four daughters. There were always just enough quilts coming in to help make ends meet! I am so grateful to all of my wonderful friends/customers who have entrusted me with their quilts.
Quilting, including Machine Quilting is a passion of mine, while making some income quilting for others is a great thing it is not the entire reason why I run my business.
My customers make quilts for so many reasons and bring them to me to add another dimension to their work, I love bringing their vision to reality. I take pride in my work, the tension has to be perfect, the design perfect for that quilt, quality threads that will withstand many many years of use and above all the satisfaction that my work meets up to the piecers as well as my own expectations for quality work.
I have met other Longarm quilters and for the most part we tend to be a group who do not compete but instead share information and encourage each other which is something that has always been a part of quilting isn’t it.
Of course the best part of quilting are the friendships that are found and grown, don’t you agree?
A very busy and productive week…
Last week flew by, I had a visitor for the week which made each day full and busy…
While Liam was here the kids asked me to try to capture his 10 month picture (tail end of his 10th month) on his quilt. He started walking a few weeks ago and ever since he has been in constant motion.
One day though I caught him sitting still, he had pulled an empty laundry basket off of the table and climbed in..
While visiting Grandma he also managed to cut 2 molars so the first few days of his visit were pretty tough but all in all we managed well.
During naps I was able to finish a few customer quilts
this pile shows 5 of the 6 that I quilted for Emily..one day after she has seen them I will be post some of her quilts!
I also managed to finish this queen size quilt that shows what a Longarm Quilter can do with a pre-printed fabric! This is quilted using Michelle Wyman’s Star Swirl Pantograph.
I was also able to finish a custom Thimbleberries King Quilt that I forgot to take pictures of as well as a flannel lap quilt for Alva which will be shown in my next post.
Did I mention that after Liam went home I went to bed early and slept late!
Why I Love Quilting for my Customers
1. I love quilts, all quilts. Yes some are not necessarily my taste but then that will present a challenge for me which helps me to grow as a quilter. Also I never know what my customers are piecing and I love to see new quilts.
this is my Moms quilt, she pieced it and embroidered each block. It was a Thimbleberries Club Block of the Month. These are not my colours, but I really love how it turned out and it lives on my Parents bed keeping them snuggly warm together which brings me great joy!
2. I love that my customers will often let me play with their quilts and give them suggestions that I think will work, and I also love when my customers want something in particular that might stretch me and cause me to grow in my skills.
This quilt that Tara brought me took me a while to complete, but was a pure joy to quilt and I still love looking at the pictures. (the hand applique on this quilt is incredible!)
2. I love quilters, there is something about people who cut up fabric only to sew it all back together. We share a joy that perhaps non quilters don’t understand. When my customers bring me their tops they are usually very excited about having them quilted and getting them finished. Some are for personal use, some for special gifts and I get to share in the joy.
I have quilted a couple of wedding gift quilts for Terri, I love her colour choices!
3. I love helping beginner quilters learn more about this art, as a longarm quilter I’m often able to give encouragement and offer suggestions to the new quilter how they can grow as a quilter. I am also able to watch them progress in their quilting skills..
this is a sweet baby quilt that Ellen made for her Grandson before he arrived she did an incredible job on this quilt and has continued to grow in her skills and her joy in quilting!
Mabel made 2 quilts this is one of them, she made them for her granddaughters and it was a true joy working with her!
4. I really love to have my customers come by with their quilts or for pick ups and have a little visit and share the joy of quilting.
Jeanette’s True North Strong and Free Quilt..I will be writing a separate post on this beauty!
5. I Love quilts, I love quilting and I love to share this joy with others!
Time for some fun!
I love doing the Designer Mystery Block of the Months from the http://www.fatquartershop.com/ each month I receive a nice little package in the mail with more than enough fabric to complete the block and by the time I’ve completed the quilt there’s enough left over for some more fun!
After a busy day yesterday, it was time to break this out. This years quilt is using the Vintage Modern Collection by Bonnie & Camille.
I also had a lot of fun playing with some freehand quilting.
Sweet Little Baby Quilts
For some reason I’ve been in the baby quilt making mode these last few months.
My original plan was for this first quilt to be the back of the second but then when it was pieced it just seemed so soft and sweet that it needed to be it’s own quilt.
I’ve been very inspired by some of the different quilts I’ve noticed on peoples blogs lately and thought this fabric would adapt well to what is being called Modern Quilts.
Baby Baby (Quilts that is)
I know my last few posts look like all I’ve been doing is playing outside this summer, which I admit due to our very short summer I try to play outside as much as I can, I really have been quilting too…
One of the challenges that I set out to do was to use 2 Lily and Will by Bunny Hill charm packs to make 2 baby quilts. One for a girl and one for a boy.
Adding some background yardage, here are the results
I used the Baby Pinwheel pattern from the Moda Bake Shop to make the second quilt, the first is an adaptation of the Funny Farm pattern from the book Fat Quarter Fun by Karen Snyder.
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 