Tracey approached me about having me quilt her first quilt, I was happy and honoured to be able to help as she had a small window of being in town working as a community nurse. I added both her final border as well as pieced her polar fleece backing.
She chose the pantograph Kindling as it added to the feather look that she was looking for. She also chose a heavier weight thread that would really pop against the black background and disappear into the plates.
The design added a stunning look on the back of the quilt as well.
It really is both an honour and privilege to be entrusted with my customers quilts and to help them bring their work to completion.
As the Grandchildren began arriving, we began a tradition of holding a Christmas brunch the Sunday before Christmas. My thinking was it would be nicer than the pressure for young families of trying to be with everyone over a two day period.
So todays our day. The tree is decorated, gifts under the tree. Liam has a new Fort built for the cousins. Cookies are baked.
Liam and I began a tradition when he was very small of baking his favourite chocolate cherry cookies together…
This year he and his Mom mixed the dough and last night he helped me bake them…
We have enough snow! Erik has the snowmobiles ready and made the trails yesterday through the woods for fun after brunch!
Winter has truly arrived and it definitely will be a white Christmas!
The tranquility of the early morning and watching the daylight begin with the snow laden trees is so peaceful I feel truly blessed to begin my day sipping coffee and enjoying the view!
A few months ago we discovered that a Finnish comedian, Ismo that we have watched on YouTube was going to be in Duluth this month. So we ordered tickets thinking that we would just keep an eye on the weather. We also booked our stay at the Inn on the Lake Superior where we always stay in Duluth.
The drive down was nice and uneventful, we don’t like to race but instead usually a take our time to explore a little.
This time I explored a new quilt shop in Two Harbours…I was greeted at the door by the sweetest little white pup and of course then enjoyed meeting the shop owner and exploring her beautiful shop!
Her shop is full of a lot of variety of new lines of fabric. Also for those who have been quilting for a while and remember the quilt shop in Castle Danger…those fabrics have been relocated to an area of this shop at a discounted price.
After arriving in Duluth we spent a little time at Costco before checking into the hotel. One of the things we enjoy about staying in Canal Park is the freedom of walking around the area. We had soup at Grandmas before setting off for the Bentleyville Tour of Lights!
If you are in the area it is well worth the visit! It felt truly magical and I felt an almost childlike awe in it all!
The next morning, I had enjoyed a visit with my friend Megan at Hannah Johnson’s quilt shop… I behaved and only walked out with a little purchase this time. This is a shop that I could spend hours in and come out with bags of so much fun!!
After a day of shopping around Miller Hill and Herman Town it was time to return to Canal Park, with the weather changing and now blizzard warnings in effect we decided to drive to have supper at Lucé Pizza… we love their classic.
A fun picture of a store front where we parked…
And we were off to the show, it was held at the Masonic Lodge just up Lake St on the corner of Second avenue…Megan had told me how beautiful this building was and it is. The show was fun and lots of laughs!
Ismo and I
With the blizzard warnings in effect for Duluth and the north shore for our drive home day it was a little hard not to worry…we enjoyed a swim and sauna before bed as we made the decision to head home first thing in the morning.
Leaving Duluth Wednesday morning the roads were snow covered with the wet slushy stuff and temps hovering around freezing and snow blinding at times it was messy…we thankfully followed a snowplow just past Two Harbours and then a transport to Beaver Bay. By then we had managed to get just a little ahead of the storm, and the roads were wet but fine.
We stopped in Grand Marais to watch the angry lakes high waves crashing over the shoreline, thankful that we would miss the worst of the storm and soon be home.
After unloading and getting settled back home I was happy to be back in my studio! One of the things that I picked up was the binding fabric for my Sunny quilt!
We are home in time for more snow which is fine as I have a lot to keep me busy in my studio and preparing for Christmas of course.
Terri chose the pantograph Kindling for the quilting design and it really added so much movement and visual appeal oh and the texture!
I also pieced the backing and of course trimmed her quilt for her so that it was ready for binding. I always check with my customers before trimming and find that most people are more than happy to have me do this step for them. All of the trimmings are returned with the quilt.
I love how beautiful the stitches look on the back!
It’s not often that a quilt catches Eriks eye but this one sure did!
My customer chose the pantograph Waterworld for the quilting design as well as took me up on my free backing piecing and trimming service. Every quilt back and top is pressed and carefully loaded onto my machine before I begin quilting.
The density of the quilting is also important to consider if the quilt is to be used and washed fairly often.
How fun will this quilt be to receive under the tree this year … it’s for the makers tractor loving guy!!! My guy asked for one too…
November has sure been a busy month in the studio and the next weeks now that it’s December will be as well. I really consider myself fortunate to be able to spend my workdays helping others complete their quilts!!
There hasn’t been a great deal of personal piecing time and I haven’t felt overly motivated either which in a way is a good thing … I have been percolating different border ideas for my Longtime Gone Quilt. This has been a long-standing project that I had been hoping to quilt over the holidays.
Well, after finishing quilting this customer quilt last night…
I spent some time in my studio puttering and playing with left over blocks in the LTG (longtimegone) bin and looking on Pinterest for inspiration and it’s finally come to me. I have also decided on the quilting design and backing.
Just to remind…here is one of the more recent sections completed for LTG. It’s been such a fun project and I am excited to see it completed.
Also some of the blocks on the design wall. I actually have the top pieced and ready for the final border.
I have a tractor quilt ready to load this morning…Stay tuned!
Contact me about having your quilt top professionally quilted, my services include free piecing of your backing fabric along with trimming your quilt if desired so that it’s ready for binding.
All tops and backings are pressed by me prior to being loaded on my longarm. I am happy to assist you in deciding on the design for your quilt or as many people do I can decide for you.
It was quilted using the pantograph Windswept…which added a ribbon like look.
I pieced the backing…this fabric needed to be matched due to the print. it’s not always easy to get it perfectly matched but in my opinion it is well worth the effort!
Here is a link for a fantastic tutorial for matching large prints. Of course I happily piece customer quilt backings free of charge, contact me for more information.
Wendy’s Quilting and Life 