Designing quilting

Recently I was asked by a follow quilter how I decide what quilting to use.  To be honest its not an easy process for me.  Making tops I can do in no time flat, but the quilting is a real chore sometimes.  The more I do it the easier it comes.  Two years ago I would just do simple follow the outlines in the quilt, straight stitching.  After sending my quilts to a longarmer I decided that I could do this if I put my mind to it.  So I saved and found a machine and here I am today.

I'm always looking at new patterns and designs on the net and looking at other bloggers work.  But this is my process. 

First While I'm making the top I'm thinking about what I'd like, then search the internet.  When the top is complete I take pictures of individual blocks or an area I want to quilt.  Making notes on the back.  I can also use these to draw on.  Or they are put into plastic sleeves and use a dry eraser to mark on the sleeve.

If that doesnt give me enough space then I break out the BIG paper.

With a big eraser!



All my ideas and drawings are put into the clear sleeve and hung by my frame.  If that quilt isn't on the frame then it goes in a folder of ideas.

Don't touch the Daisies!

 Took a break from frame quilting this weekend and made this little cutie.  The pattern is called Don't Touch Me, designed by AMANDA.  So I decided to call my version Don't touch the Daisies.   You can find the pattern at HERE AT THE CRAFTSY WEBSITE.  It was such a fun and quick pattern to put together.  Her instructions were very well written.  You know how sometimes you get a pattern or a quilt book you have to go on a wild search of information to find out what in the world they are talking about.  Not with this pattern, she explains everything, which I need sometimes...LOL! When choosing the fabric for this I was in the mood for girly fun!  And what are a bunch of girls but LOUD!  And this little quilt is loud....I love it!

Very seldom do I use verigated thread but it worked so well with this quilt, added a little more demension don't you think?  

Until next time....Quilt out of your comfort zone!  (Pssst...verigated thread was out of my comfort zone)

Cute little birdie

So call me a power blogger today.  But I had to share my little bird. He's just so cute I couldn't wait to share.    I modified it from HERE.  Its a Wendy Sheppard design.  I'm sure many of you have seen her patterns in quilting mags.  She's been published several times.  You can check her out on her BLOG .  It may seem like I'm stalking her because I mentioned her in a post a week or so ago.  But really I'm just a fan of her work....Honest...

Football quilt ready for its new home

Can you see the footballs on either side?  They are there I promise.  I'm glad this one is going to its new home.  It took forever because I found the quilting to be boring.  But I really dont think feathers and swirls would've looked good...LOL
Well I hate brag and run, but you know how it is time is wastin!
Till next time.....Quilt out of your comfort zone you won't be disappointed!

Summer Romance quilt progress

My week so far has been running my mom to one doctors appointment after another.  Not sure that it qualifies for quality time spent together but we've definatly done the time and both of us are completely wore out from the experience.  Next week I'll be babysitting her after her hysterectomy, so my dad can go to work and not worry about her getting around  and eating.  So again I'll be a little Missing In Action on the Blog. 

Even though I've been on the go I'v manage to work in a little sewing time.  Summer Romance is coming along slowly and I'm loving how its turning out so far.  Believe it or not it took me two days to finish the cross hatching in side the flowers....shewwwww.....and the micro stippling is even more intense and hard on my eyes.  Ross asked me who gets this quilt when finished, NO ONE!  Its mine all mine and he's not allowed to touch it.  Just like a kid, even though he's 48, I'll have to keep a close eye on him.....LOL

Our guild does a BOM.   Last month we were challenged to make a table runner out of the block.  I started it but of course I didn't have it finished in time for the meeting.  I'll have a late entry for next months meeting, but no prizes for completion when a month late.  Better late than never and I love this little table runner.  I used the cherry fabric because our kitchen has all sorts of different berries on the wall paper.  Its not as wavy as it looks here. Red gigham fabric is actually an old sheet so I chose not to quilt that area because the fabric is to tightly weaved.

Peek of the week....

Well my goodness this week has just flown by!  I had a little visitor again this week and she kept me on my toes.  When she visits I wonder how I ever took care of 8 kids at one time, yep you heard me right, back in my younger days(which wasn't THAT long ago) I managed my home and my 3 kids plus 5 other precious little ones.  Those days are gone and will NEVER be back if I can help it!  If 8 kids walked through my door now you'd find me running out the back door!  Even though she was here the sewing room was still open for business.  So heres a little peek at the happenings in Podunk.

The christmas top is partially done, applique will be added...someday....

Needed the company of adults, the guild meeting was just what it took to keep me sane.  They shared the round robins that were going to charity.  Nope I didn't participate, maybe next time. 

 

And the Football quilt is off the frame and in the Rec room.  I washed and blocked.  Tomarrow I'll share the picture after it drys.    But while we are waiting...I've gotta share...Summer Romance is back on the frame.  I was stuck on what to do with the center, pulled out some books.  Karen Mctavish can always inspire me.  So all of her books were looked through several times and......

Trying my hand at some micro quilting.   For the lack of better words.....  OMG!  Had to break out my reading glasses in order to see what and where I'd been.  Wishing I could get it done by county fair time but with the way next weeks schedule is looking I don't think so...again I say maybe next year....So until next time ya'll .....Quilt out of your comfort zone...I don't know where I read it or who said it but I try to quilt by it! (and not pick out stitches)

Last post for QAL

Didn't get anywhere on my Christmas quilt along, but my fabric is dry and maybe I can start later in the week.  All the quilters quilts were so inspiring.....well maybe next time ....  Thanks to all that commented and stopped by to say Hi. 

The good news is...I got the customer quilt off the frame and now I'm ready to put my quilt back on!  Yeah!  All thats left is to bind and ship it off to its new home!

Feeling festive! Christmas in July Continued....

Sew'n Wild Oaks is having a QAL today.  Stumbled upon her site a couple of weeks ago while surfing and have fallen in love once more with someone elses work. 

  I've gotten my fabric washed and now its drying.  Working on customer quilt while it dries.  Reds they scare me when not washed!(It's a sad story that I don't like to talk about)

Moda website wouldn't let me download the fabrics so I had to use what was already in EQ7.  Might tweek this pattern a little bit and add some applique. 

Christmas in July

A BIG thank you to Amanda and Karen for this wonderful little give away.   Amanda's new pattern "Don't Touch Me"  looks so fun!  You can get it HERE .  Hopefully by this weekend I'll get my customer quilt finished and can try out Amandas new pattern. The instructions for this are so well written and easy to understand!   Karen graciously sent me the pattern along with these fabrics  that she purchased at The Intrepid Thread.  Hop on over to Amanda's Blog  and Karens Blog to see what fun new things they're sewing up!

New Flimsys this week

Here's a tutorial that I used for making the applique this quilt top. 
http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/tutorial-machine-fusible-applique/ You may recongnize some of the quilts in the tutorial.  One of the quilts was just published this month in a quilting magazine that I seen at the grocery store this week. What a wonderful site full of so much quilting information.   My machine wouldn't allow me to do stitches as small as hers unless I reprogramed and thats a lengthy process that I've never done.  So maybe some other day when I don't feel like sewing, which is almost never!  I think the pink in this quilt reminds me of Pepto-bismo, you know that pink stuff for an upset tummy.  Maybe Bazooka Bubble gum.  What ever the color its very loud.  I've much more of these fabrics so I think I might add a border to the larger flimsy and make some pillow cases and shams. 

Marking quilt tools

Recently I was asked how I mark my quilts.  So here's all my marking tools.  Most of the time I use either Mark-B-Gone pens ( spritz with water and its gone!) or chalk for darker fabrics.  Dritz makes a great chalk pen that I broke so I found that their lead will fit in a regular mechanical pencil.  Thats the orange pen with the red tape, ain't pretty but it works.  The red tape lets me know that its not a regular pencil.  The little wheel thingy I rarely use, its more for dressmakers, but I've had it since I was a teenager so its stays in the pile.  The Disappearing ink is great if you work quick.  There was one time I walked away for about an hour and came back and the design was gone!  So choose your tool of choice wisely.  The pounce sounded great but I wasn't impressed, one good feature of the pounce is the chalk in it disappears with the touch of an iron.  The gray pencil and two white pencil are EZ quilting pencils, Its a LIE they dont want to wash out, and erasing makes a huge mess on your quilt.  I sometimes use these for marking HST's because the line will be on the inside of the quilt. 

  

For copying/transferring hand embroidery designs(which I've never done, I've always traced with a light box and a pen of some sort) theres these fine gadgets.  You can find a tutorial HERE on how to use these products.  I'll be purchasing some of these new to me pens when I work on my CHERRY TWEET quilt.  Shopping around on the internet and found THIS and THIS .  Hope this helps demystify a few things.  If not feel free to ask!

Twice in one day

Can you believe this!  Never in my years of sewing has this happened so many times in one day.  Honestly rarely do I bend a pin when running over them.  Okay so when I bought the machine the dealer told me not to run over the pins but I've been running over pins for years!  Since I was  a little girl.   So now I'm pulling every pin right before I run over it.  Its become a game to see how fast and close I can get before I stop.  Sad I know but its entertainment in my small mind.

Playing around in EQ with the quilt top currently in progess.  Deciding weather or not to make a fancy border.  Of course this isn't part of the pattern from the magazine.  Seems the pattern always gets altered.  Also thinking of some appliqued flowers....hummm....who knows how it'll turn out. 

Meds may be needed

The football quilt is well on its way.....loaded and started quilting when...

.....I remembered that I needed to finish the chair covers for a customer...thank goodness these are done and out of the way.

While putting away the chair covers the magazines were all a mess so I had to organize them....

 ...Man there's some cute and easy patterns in here....so.... I made this yesterday, not sure I'll stay with this layout....

And the cutest little pile of scraps....I'm thinking maybe a small pillow!

This is why I need meds so I can stay on task!

Good things that happen while you sleep

IT RAINED!  YEAH!  The first rain since May 1 !  It's not enough rain to fix the yard but it's still a nice.
                                             This is the front yard......

                                            .......and this is the back

But look at this....See the raindrops!

Waiting for it to drip...come on..you can do it!

Picture perfect....looks so refreshed...

Its been awhile since I've seen a puddle but I think this closely resembles one

I washed my truck last week, thats why it rained!  I think I'll wash it again!

 And also while I slept last night some bad things happened, take a look at the mess some little Rocky the Raccoon made....Uggg...we have been hauling water up out of the pond in order to keep my garden from dying.  If  I get an site on Rocky he might find some lead in his behind.  Sorry all you nature lovers but I love my natural home grown tomatos, Rockys going home to his maker.  Tis life!