Annette's Quilt

Annette brought me this beautiful Christmas quilt that she had made using Laurel Burch fabrics.

She wanted lots of detail and variety. At first, she was thinking maybe a string of Christmas lights on the red background in between the ornaments. I got out my piece of Plexiglas and dry erase marker and sketched it out. By the way, this method is brilliant! Someone had posted on Pinterest about using clear Plexiglas as a 'drawing board' of sorts for quilting. I like it because it is a great way to test ideas before you quilt. I always have an idea in my head, but I'm never quite sure exactly how it will come out once it is quilted, and by then, it is too late. This is so easy, you just place the Plexiglass over the quilt and mark on the glass with dry erase markers to see if you like the design. Just wipe away with a paper towel after.

 

 

 

When I sketched out the Christmas lights, they didn't look like they belonged. Annette saw this pic on one of my Pinterest boards and liked this idea. I used this pic, which I believe is a stamp from shop.sweetstamps.com, as the basis for the red background fabric. Each ornament is unique. There are no two the same.

 

 

Each of the larger ornaments have their own design as well.

 



 

'NOEL' is spelled out as ornaments.

The letters of 'Joy' hang down like ornaments from the swirly branches.

 

When Annette first gave me the quilt, she said she'd like a Santa face in the red somewhere. I thought, hm, could be difficult. I started pinning Santa faces I liked and she told me which one she liked. Here is the Santa face she picked. It is the picture in the top left corner.

 

 

It was a little more challenging than the simple Santa faces I had been thinking of, but I think it turned out well. I'm slowly discovering that if I can draw it, I can probably quilt it:) And Sewingly Yours has introduced me to the most wonderful pen that makes marking super easy. It looks like a ball point pen, but all you have to do is swoop an iron (and not even a super heated iron) over it and, poof! Gone!

 

 



This is the pattern Annette picked for the outer borders. It is difficult to make out in the photo, but you can see it better in the following pic.

It is available at TK Quilting.

Each of the corners had a Christmas tree pattern. Annette asked if I could quilt some presents under the trees. I also decorated each tree. The tree in the pic above has a string of lights on it and the one below has little pearls hooked together like garland.

 

And if you look very closely under the right side of this tree, you can see the outline of a dog with reindeer antlers and ornaments hanging from them.

 

Thanks Annette for letting me quilt this beautiful wall hanging! Really had the creative juices flowing for this one!

Carrie's Quilt

And yet another beautiful quilt from Carrie P. with beautifully embroidered blocks. Carrie asked for an overall floral motif across the blue and purple strips and some tight stippling to make the embroidered blocks stand out. She chose the Sulky blendables thread which has variegated blues and purples. I've discovered this thread gives out LOADS of lint, but the colors are perfect for this quilt:)

I unfortunately chose a windy day to photograph this quilt, but you will be able to see the finished product better on Carrie's blog once she gets the binding on.

I should have zoomed in on the topiary on the top left. I think that one is my favorite embroidered block. You can see the floral motif more closely in the next 3 photos. The pattern is called Botanical Blossoms and I found it on quiltingmama.com.

 

Thanks again Carrie!

Marianna's quilt

Marianna came to me with a beautiful bright baby quilt.  She wanted a simple design, but nothing too dense, so that the quilt would still be nice and soft.

She decided on a basic swirl design to cover the whole quilt.

Here is a photo of the backing. These cars are adorable!

 

Thanks so much Marianna for letting me quilt your beautiful little baby quilt!

Success at the Bloom Craft Fair!

The wait is finally over. After months of sewing like mad, the Bloom Craft Fair is done and I had a wonderful time! I've had boxes of quilts and crayon keepers and bags lined up against the wall in my bedroom and it is so nice to have them out of the way.

I got up bright and early on Saturday morning so I could get the right table. As you can see, I had loads of stuff! Last April, the tables were a lot closer together and I had trouble fitting everything in my space. This time was great. The tables were more spaced out and I had plenty of room to put my coat rack and even the quilt rack that usually lives in my bathroom. There I am above, half hidden by all the hats and the Christmas tree!

I was so busy getting everything just right that I totally forgot about pictures. My mom obliged me by taking some for me. Thanks Mom! I had all my iPhone covers laid out with 4 different belt clips to choose from. Thanks Amy Friend at QuringQuietTime.blogspot.com for your wonderful pattern and permission to sell them.

I had burp cloths and crayon keepers and hats, both knitted and sewn. I thought it was a great time of year to sell Christmas ornaments, but I didn't have much luck there. I did sell a few wall quilts though.

I brought my quilt rack just in case and there was plenty of room for it. I didn't sell any baby quilts, but the coffee cup quilt was purchased.

All of my scarves and owl bags fit nicely on the coat rack, with room for the Christmas stockings in the middle. Again I was surprised that the stockings didn't sell well. I'll list the ones that are left on Etsy and refrain from stocking making in the future:) I prefer quilting!

All in all, it was a fun day out. Since I go to that church, I knew a lot of the people that came through and it was nice to just get out and chat. The added bonus was a big stock reduction and lots of sales, yay! Thanks so much to the Bloom organizers. You did a great job!

Starry Night quilt

After seeing my Winter Scene, my neighbor was thinking the snowy swirls reminded him of Van Gogh's Starry Night.

 

Then he asked if I could make a quilt to look like the painting. He thought his son might like one for Christmas. It was a little daunting, what with all those brushstrokes, but I love a challenge:)

So I have found what I think is a great sky fabric and started cutting out pieces. Here is what I've got so far.

It has some really nice swirls. I've cut out some 'stars' and fused them on. Really, it will be the quilting in yellows and whites that make the difference.

The only problem is the village. Having fussy cut some light blue houses and a church, I put them on the quilt to see how it might look. Unfortunately they stand out too much. There is a lot going on on the ground in this painting. I'm starting to think more in the direction of fabric paint. Has anyone else tried this? If I can paint the dark blue ground as busy as the painting, the village won't stand out as badly. Might actually paint the village as well and then quilt the swirls around it. I'm also thinking a solid black border, maybe 3 inches?

Next stop: Joann fabrics. At least if I can remove myself from quarantine for long enough. It has been two weeks of sick kids and the cupboards are bare. Really looking forward to the Bloom Craft Fair this Saturday at Redeemer Presbyterian from 10-4. Should be a nice day out.

My first quilting job as Tanderwen Crafts

Better late than never:) I finished my first quilting job as Tanderwen Crafts the first week in Oct and since I have been sewing like mad trying to get ready for my next craft fair, I'm a little behind on posting this. This is Carrie P.'s quilt. She has been really generous in 'sponsoring' me in my endeavor to get a quilting business going. She made a beautiful little quilt that she calls Hearts of Imagination and asked me to quilt it.

Here is the quilt unbound. Carrie has some more close ups on her blog.

I love these little pearl centered on the darker pink border.

I found a picture of this feathered scroll work on Pinterest, which is probably my main source of quilting ideas. I have a board that is dedicated to quilting motifs that interest me.



I tried without success to find some closer photos of the lady's work. Her blog is called leanneharvey.blogspot.com. So using only this photo, I drew the center curved line on the outer border with water soluble marker and drew the swirls freehand.

I found the swirly pattern for the pink sashing using a Google search. It was an image that popped up, and of course, now that I am looking for it again, I can't seem to find it.

Thanks so much Carrie for letting me quilt your beautiful quilt!

Big sale in my Etsy shop!

Hi all, I'm running a big sale in my Etsy shop for the next week. 20% off for all my Facebook and blogging friends. Use coupon code OFF20 at the checkout. The link to my shop is on the right hand side of the page. Thanks and happy shopping!