Jonnie's cream and red quilt

Jonnie wanted custom quilting on this one and suggested that I might do a block design. She thought a darker cream thread would be the best.

I spent more time thinking about the quilting for this quilt than I did quilting it. I wanted something that would compliment the lines of the block. I finally found a design that I liked and set about marking it with my Frixion pen.

I used the lid from a peanut container to draw the center circle. Then I made registration marks where all the lines would connect. Unfortunately, the angles on my Continuous Curve rulers weren't round enough, so I pulled out a plastic cookie dough lid and traced the curves. I did attempt one block actually using the lid as a ruler, but it was a little high for the foot.

When I finished quilting the basic design, it looked like it still needed something. So I quilted some petals in the center square, and echoed the curves on the outside. Then I was able to use my Continuous Curve ruler to fill in the middle spaces.

My friend Gina gave me a great tip for making the feather spine more uniform. Well, she said to use receipt paper. I guess you can get that easily at Staples. I didn't have any of that in the house, but I did have some wrapping paper. I cut out a long strip, folded it into four, and then cut a curve with scissors. Then all I had to do was pin it down and mark the line, and every curve is exactly the same! Amazing how easy that is:)

And of course, my little dog sneaked into the studio to be photographed.

As it would happen, the only darkish cream thread I had was a 1000 yd sample cone that I received when I bought my George. I was pretty sure that I would have enough, but it never hurts to be careful.

I went to Kingsmen Quilting Supply online and checked to see if they had the color I needed. There was a note saying that they weren't fully stocked with Omni yet and it could take up to 2 weeks to order. That made me nervous. I surely didn't want to wait that long. I could buy it directly from Superior, but Kingsmen's prices are too good too beat. About $5 less per cone. It was late evening when I emailed them and asked if they had the Maple in stock. I wasn't expecting to hear anything back until the next day.

Their customer service is amazing. Jen emailed me back that night around 10:30 saying that she had sent her son to the shop floor to make sure they had the color I needed. And they did!

I emailed her back the next day asking what other colors they had in stock and how many would fit into the box. She told me that 11 cones would fit into a box and sent me a list of the numbers available. I placed my order on the 20th and had the box in my studio on the 22nd.

If you ever need to order thread, I highly recommend Kingsmen. They have incredible customer service and great prices. And you can't beat super fast shipping.

Happily, not only did I have enough thread to complete the quilting, I've discovered an affordable brand that works really well in my machine. Almost as good as the Aurifil and at a much lower cost. It is polyester, but it looks and feel like cotton and quilts like a dream. Think I'll be stocking up on Omni from now on.

Thanks Jonnie!

Della's Christmas quilts

Della brought me these Christmas quilts already layered together and ready to go. She asked for custom quilting.

I quilted a snowy swirl on the snowflake quilt with a few snowflakes quilted in here and there.

I had a lot of fun with this Santa quilt. I quilted wavy lines on Santa's robe, and swirls in the white background.

Thanks Della!

Dot's Disappearing Nine Patch quilts

Dot brought me two disappearing nine patch quilts. I wanted to do something a little different from the swirls on the other two quilts I just quilted for her.

So I quilted overlapping circle swirls for the first quilt.

And then I quilted wavy lines on the second quilt to give it a more modern look.

Thanks Dot!

Beverly's Hunter's Star

Beverly's purple and yellow Hunter's Star was a king size! I was not looking forward to clearing the kitchen floor to pin it, so my friend Gina offered to thread baste it on her longarm. Am I drooling yet? It took a fraction of the time. I only wish I could have quilted it on the frame as well:)

I had to alternate between purple and yellow thread, which makes quilting with a domestic machine a little more challenging, especially with a quilt this size. The trick is to keep everything smooth, so it doesn't bunch up when you get close to the stitching of the color that you have already used.

Thanks Beverly!

Carrie's Little Red Quilt

Carrie brought me this quilt as well as a photo of the pattern (Little Red by Judy Adams) in the book that she used. She liked the quilting and asked if I could duplicate it.

It didn't look that difficult, so I said sure! It wasn't really a difficult pattern, but it took me a while to work out how to keep the quilting line continuous. I ended up quilting it in blocks.

I freehand quilted the feather blocks and continuous curve centers.

Then I used my Fine Line curved ruler for the lined blocks.

This outer border was a lot of fun. It looks more complicated than it is. I simply quilted the curved pattern, with the curves all going in the same direction.

Then I started echoing it on the left all the way around and then again to the right.

 Then I quilted bumpy feathers on the outer border.

Thanks Carrie!

APQS George and a straight ruler

Here's my first attempt at a video. Fingers crossed!

Here's the link for the 9" ruler if anyone is interested. You can get it at Green Fairy Quilts. It works great for domestic machine use, especially since it has that handle to hold onto and get your thumb tucked into. 

For anyone else who is interested in learning more about quilting with rulers on a domestic machine, have a look at Amy's blog, Amy's Free Motion Quilting Adventures. She has some great videos and tips.

Dot's quilts

Dot brought me two Treasure Box quilts. They aren't identical, but nearly, as she used the same fabrics for both.

I quilted swirls with leaves all over the first one.

And my favorite feather swirl pattern with a couple of paisley shapes thrown in.

Thanks Dot!

Marie's quilts

 Annette brought me these quilts that her sister, Marie, made. The first quilt had a pajama theme. It is so sweet, it makes me smile! Love the pjs!

Marie asked for custom quilting. Each themed block has a different background filler.

Aren't these adorable! She even used a special stitch to sew the pom poms on the heels. Love it.!

I was going to avoid quilting on the pajama appliques, but I ended up stitching a few lines over the patterns to outline them and make them less puffy. I followed along the zigzagged lines so it would be as invisible as possible.

Could these boxers be any cuter!

I quilted continuous curves on all the squares in the outer border and stippled around the embroidered words.

The second quilt made use of this gorgeous birdcage fabric.

I quilted tiny swirls and pebbles on the bird fabric and a wood grain pattern on the brown borders with some scrolly swirls on the colored strips to give it a window feel.

And piano keys on the outer border to bring the whole design together.

Thanks so much Marie!