Double Wedding Ring

Presented to Son and Daughter in law on the occasion of their  marriage...not terribly past the actual day of the occasion. Then additional few months to write about and post pictures. 

 Close views of the quilting.

Another finish!

     I  have a favourite group 'list' that I subscribe to, where the focus is on "stash busting".  It is an active supportive and entertaining group. Especially for those who like to use the fabric that has accumulated in various places for various reason.  This group also encourages and  issues challenges to complete projects, referred to as UFO's (un  finished objects)  :))
     Clearing things off the 'aroundtoit' is a great feeling.  I have cleared off two large projects last year and several small ones.
This project goes back several years.  It took some time for me to make this one. I got hung up down in memory lane each time I picked it up. This style of quilt is often referred to as a  memory quilt. Really?
 It contains my dad's dress shirts & a shirt of mine. I gave myself this licence as the quilt is mine and I am his only child.

G & G Quilt

A blue grey back,  quilted with fish which I drew and a pine cone pantograph

I hope you are resting in peace, Dad.
gudrun

Picture Prints

I enjoy using pictures in quilts.  I haven't done any of my own, just purchased.
I enjoyed quilting this one. I kept it simple, flowers, leaves and feathers, and not very dense,  as there is not quilting in the pictures, which are actually quite small.

 There are some knots on the back, where there is thread build up,
it is occasional, but not a good thing.

Time for some machine maintenance.

 (sigh)

Wishing you a wonderful Saturday,

gudrun

Pretty Quilts

 I have been slow with posting the quilts that have been my pleasure and sometimes pain to quilt the last few weeks.  I am glad that quilters turn to bright colours this time of year.  It helps with the lack luster colour that greats me regularly at the window. This happy quilt was done with an all over floral.

Back

Another bright quilt with a solid black back, making for very visible quilting, in a bright raspberry pink thread.

Happy Friday,

gudrun

Two More Quilts

Two cuddle quilts, one for the Christmas season, and the other for a fella's birthday. This piecer is enjoying applique and using her own pattern ideas. It's interesting watching the direction clients take with their quilts.    OOPS   didn't realize I hung it with the deer upside down.  

This looks orange, is actually two tone red. It was too sunny  :) that isn't a complaint.

The motifs where left 'open' . 

Hope you are enjoying the last Sunday in May...gotta get working on the "wedding quilt"
Cheers,
gudrun

Roman Tiles

This Roman Tiles (also know as  Hidden Wells) quilt was fun to quilt. I got to do feathering...all over the place. This was not a favourite quilt of the piecer, as she ended up tea dying the whole thing.  She didn't care for the contrast of stark white...at least that is what I think I remember her telling me. I think her tea was well applied and the resulting colour combination is good.

And she liked my quilting so I think she will end up keeping it.

On an entirely different note we had a new visitor at our bird feeder recently....never seen this one before.  I am on a research mission.  I need to know 'his' name.

Happy Thursday,
gudrun

Another Finish

Actually two recent finishes. Both these quilts were inspired by Sharyn Craig.  If you haven't heard of her, you really need to check her out.  She often posses the question "What If?" If you are into using up scraps, she's a wonderful resource.  I am presently working on one of my own, using her methods.
I am hoping to get at least to the flimsy stage by the end of the month.

Both quilts are lightly quilted, with an 'open' pantograph.
Happy Monday,
gudrun

I call it yummy......William Morris Prints

I had the pleasure of quilting an original design using William Morris prints. This was very enjoyable to quilt.... though doing a pantograph,  keeps me at the back of the machine.  Long armers know this means one doesn't have as intimate a relationship with the fabrics :(   When I work from the front I can really look at the fabric (So know you know my secret !)    Who likes  Wm. Morris prints.....me!

I am also looking forward to quilting a little Kaffee Fassett does W. Morris number hanging on my to do wall. It too is a yummy piece.
Happy Monday and Happy Quilting,
gudrun

Yesterday....Talking about the Long Arm

I am glad yesterday is yesterday.  I felt like a cat on a hot tin roof. Perhaps it was because we had a heat wave ...up to 5 from - 10)  here but probably because
I gave a little talk about what I do as a long arm quilter.
I was relaxed about it until a few days ago.... thought it would be "an okay gig" It was running around in my brain that I have quilted for almost half the membership but then I started to over think the whole thing and like I said I was sooooo nervous.  Apparently I did all right, had a hand-out to cover the basic requirements needed from the piecer and had some small samples to touch and examine circulating the room, answered a few questions. I hope I didn't say 'um' and 'like' a lot and I hope I wasn't slouching.  Mom  says I slouch.

 Anyway that was yesterday.  Today the sun is shining, even so, the day hasn't been stellar.  I had to take a tow truck ride down from the ski resort...no brakes on my car.  Totally creepy.  I was dropping DS off at the hill, and returning to the hospital rehab centre to get DH, when the lack of brake power in the car had me heading for the nearest parking lot at the resort hotel.
Okay that was before lunch, I am home drinking tea and having toast, all will be well, car is getting fixed and life continues  ...whew.  Today, I am will phone mother, tell her about my not 'another boring winter day'.

drive safely friends,
gudrun

Another Fall Fair Win

The quilt from a previous post, "Some Days are Diamonds"  where I explained how I adjusted
a full border on a quilt based on the pattern "I Had A Dream".  I am so pleased that this method
worked well, well enough to give the piecer  a 'second place' in her category at
 the Great Northern Exhibit, Fall Fair .
You go Sandy!!
gudrun
(I have the remnants of a cold and some annoying allergies, only George and I  here today, so I am blogging, and surfing instead of quilting. Later  I'll go outside for a bit.... see how the spider webs are doing  :)) 

Some Days are Diamonds....

I recently quilted this large quilt called "I had a Dream".  I am unaware who is the pattern designer. This was fun to quilt till I got to the borders. My my.... 

If you look closely you will see the wee pleats I made to gather in the fullness. They haven't been appliqued down, so they are not flat and neat, yet! But looking decent already...lots of spray starch to help.

Fullness in Border.

I 've arrived in the season of fullness, here's another quilt with fullness in the centre.

This one of three 'same' quilts in different colour ways. The piecing is lovely except for what ever happened in the centre??  There was some fullness that I ended up carrying along to the border.  When I got  to this point on the first quilt, I re-examination of the other two quilts...same thing.  The piecer took them home and worked on the problem.  The next one I worked on  was substancially
 flatter,  a hit of spray starch, and of course tape on the tiny loose border,  it finished off well. The last one is not as well behaved :)) However, spray starch, extra batting and careful stitching should keep the fullness from traveling to the borders. Stay tuned.
Hope your Monday is a good one,
gudrun

Congratulations Lesley, Oh and me too!

The Lucky Lesley from our lovely West Coast will be receiving
a set of pillow cases I  made.  In her email she sounded
more excited  then any pillow cases  I have know are able to
excite....and I was right. As it happens she was also
 just hired as a teacher in her neighbourhood.
She'll be teaching music to children from k to 4.
  Her first job in her field of training.  Wow!

The Fall Fair season is upon us here in Ontario.  I was convinced  by friends, I should
participate in my towns Fair so I did.  I entered a new category "long arm quilting' and the
floral section.  I received two firsts and 2 seconds in the long arm category, the quilt at the top of the
page took a first.
I recd a second in a challenge called " I made it form my old jeans"  click this link  to see the quilt I used.

I entered four florals and took  two firsts in the florals category. I didn't take a picture of the cosmos I entered but the Pic below is of a design challenge called "No Blooms".

All in all a wonderful Fair for me :))

"No Blooms" is sitting on top of canning,   I did the day before the fair.

Floral arrangement " No Blooms"

Antipasto 2010

Here's a really good picture of the work that day.  I had lots of help. DH and DS pitched in with chopping and stirring .....

Antipasto Inspector and Assistant

Happy Thursday,
gudrun

Log Cabin Hearts.... no more trouble here.

No more trouble here, and I didn't have to frog. (ripit ripit) Whew! That was too close for comfort, ripping stitches out is a very tedious chore, as I am sure you either know or can imagine.

 I am so pleased that the quilt turned out as nice as it did.  No reason it should not have, really.  It started out pretty and though it was smaller through the middle than  at the ends, and  yes I created an additional headache for myself...it is a really pretty quilt soon to be bound in a soft pink...wish it was mine.

Happy Sunday,
gudrun

There's trouble here!

Ohmigosh! The back of a lovely "Log Cabin Hearts"
quilt.  I was working very carefully watching the
issues on the front. (that's my poor excuse)   I took it off the frame to turn it.  Look Gudrun look!  What to my wondering eyes I did see...ohmigosh. Now what?
Not so happy this Thursday.
gudrun

Big Quilts

Quilts are getting larger. Perhaps it is the pillow top mattresses, whatever the cause I just finished quilting
a 115 X 97 in. panel quilt. Client said to do as I liked but to keep it in the basic panto budget. I was unable to come up with a pantograph that I thought  would do the panels justice.  So the end result was more custom quilting...SID (stitch in the ditch) using the panel frames. I made templates of two different eagles and added those with an open meander in the open spaces.  It took a long time :)) Not in the basic panto budget but that's my problem.

Back showing the outline of one of the eagle silhouettes.

This quilt measures 100X100 inches.  It was a kit, I purchased in 2006 while visiting my Mom and Dad.

I will never purchase a full quilt kit again...I have no idea what I was thinking. I hope I can sell this one.
The purchaser will need a fondness for green.

Preferably, a fondness for Bright green!  I had to use the flash for the  quilting close up, making an
incredible difference in the pictures.  However,
it's still green.
Happy quilting
gudrun

Scrap Happy

Yesterday, I  mailed a quilt to my Mom's friend Alex. This gentleman is truly
 a gentleman, he treats my Mom with respect and kindness and jumps
to assist in any way he can.  I recently took on the maintenance of her home.
She does not care to move but does want to deal with all the problems
associated with homeownership.  In a nutshell, I am the new landlady,
 she calls me with problems.  So far all is fine, I am about 4000 kilometers
 away but hey that is just a detail.
Gentlemen are disgusted when you offer payment for work, and I am
talking plumbing...a necessary.  So I made him a quilt as I noticed

he has a threadbare old blanket on his lazy boy. Since I know him to be one of the original
recyclers, I know he will appreciate that this only cost me the postage to send it.
Sew....  made from scraps, quilted with random spirals and circles.

Backed with a flannel back(note to self            directional patterns are not a lot of fun on the back)

from LQS where I had a coupon.  And a pieced wool batt.

Once again the pictures don't do it justice even if I say so myself :))    I hope he likes it.
gudrun

Confession

Not everyone will find this quilt ugly. It is, and it was poorly constructed,  make it impossible for me to quilt.  The centre is larger than the outside, using an extra layer of batting in the middle helped a little, but lots of other problems.
I got this in an auction.  I took a 12 inch outer border off, before I started. I tried quilting this as a newbie long armer, realized I was out of my depth, threw it in a corner. Pulled it out again a few weeks ago, for the third time and decided I needed to get it out of my life. Just not worth the effort.  So I took all the pins out, wrapped it up nicely and donated it.  Maybe some one will give it a life, maybe not.  I feel so much better, like when you take the tight pants off and put on elastic waisted sweats. (grin)

$10 Quilt Club

A local quilt shop runs a $10 Quilt Club.

For $10, you contract to come to the

shop, at a designated time, to pick up a

kit (colour choices made ahead of time) to be completed

by the next meeting. There you get the next kit, 

having arrived with your completed

block from the previous time. If you miss, 

either by not doing your homework or not 

making a meeting, you pay $10., to keep

going with the kits. (You do this every time you blow it :))

Here's pictures of a recent one, done by a newbie quilter.

She's got a good handle on the process. She liked what

I did, and I did it within her budget.

I tried the smaller picture

format. I don't care for it. Back to the usual, next.

Happy Tuesday

gudrun

"Recycle" The story of Trish's Quilt

This quilt is called "Recycle".  It is going home to the maker's

son.  Son works in our neighbourhood's solid waste management arena  (where is this

going?) Well, the symbols for this industry are green and circular, the quilt was made

with mostly scraps. It is a happy quilt, all those lovely bits of fabric. It sure made this long armed quilter happy as she recognized so many fabrics and  hung out in the memories 

that belong with them for a few hours.

Spirals and a small circle, and a small swirly thing along the

edges.  The edges were serged, and there was a generous seam allowance for points. 

Every quilt has its challenges, true here too. This one is large, lots of piecing, bias edges.

 Translates into a  heavy quilt and  some wonk to the edges. Having quilted many quilts I say

fore warned makes life a bit easier.

As I got closer to the end (even though I was careful with "the wax off wax on")

I knew there would be stretch as I got to the end of the quilt.

To tug on a quilt, or moosh it around too much (there is a lot of stretch in fabric)

 is to give myself a big head ache. (Gently, gently always gently. )  


It looks like a lot of fullness, not really though, carefully as  George watches, I pin down the edge easing in the fullness, watching that the pattern lines are straight.

 

Sew...go back to the top for  another look at the finish  ...turned out great.  Trish's idea of the spirals was a great finish to this happy quilt.

Happy Sunday,

gudrun

ps the picture was the correct orientation on the desk top, don't know how

to fix it, don't strain your neck muscles looking   :)