Stunning Mariner's Compass

I just recently quilted a top for Kim, owner of Carolina Sew n' Vac in Raleigh, NC. See more information on her store here. http://www.carolinasewnvac.com/ Stop by her shop and check out the quilt and all of Kim's fabrics and quilting goodies. Kim was delighted with how well the quilt turned out. It will be hanging as a sample in her store soon.

Before & After... Being around such intense colors made this quilt a lot of fun to work on. As always, I took great care that the quilting complimented and did not dominate the top. I had more freedom than usual to "go wild" with the quilting on this top due to the large plain areas of bold color. But I was also careful to be sure that all the differently quilted sections worked together as a whole. The goal was to have the quilting come radiating from the center. The flames in the pink, green, and blue areas intensified the explosive elements of this top & added a whole new dimension to the quilt. This quilt is literally bursting with personality, color, & texture. It makes quite a statement...

Before....

After....

3,000!!!!

Since December 22, 2008 I have had over 3,000 people visit my blog!!!!!! WHOOPEEE!!!! 3,000 people in 9 months is exciting! America stops by my blog the most frequently and Sweden is a close second as of late. Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, South Korea, Ecuador, Argentina, India, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Croatia, Peru, Japan & New Zealand are some of the many countries who have visited. Thanks for coming everybody!!! I've got loads of pictures and many more ideas to share with you! Daffy knows how I feel - ecstatic!!!

Swirling Whimsey

My adopted grandmother Nancy gave me another one of her beauties to quilt! It is rich array of colorful batiks set off by a dark purple background. She is making it for one of her grandchildren who will soon be going to study abroad. The country where she will be staying is quite cold, so Nancy put flannel on the back of the quilt and requested 100% wool batting. The lofty batting in combination with the soft flannel and a colorful block arrangement, made for a quilt that is both stunning and snuggly. I was sure to make the quilting open and big. This prevented the batting from being flattened. Part of the appeal of the wool batting is it's incredible poofiness. (if that's a word) The most open type of quilting I do is whimsey. But this seemed too whimsical for such an exquisite quilt. So I added some swirls. The quilting turned out better than I anticipated.

The quilt looked like a jewel collection - such lovely colors.

Me and my adopted grandmother... In the post below this one, you will see a quilt that is identical in pattern to this one. It was also done by Nancy for a grandson of hers who is also off to college. It was fun doing a guy and girl version of the same quilt. They both took on entirely different personalities. (every quilt has a personality) See you again soon! I have so much to post!!!

A Touch of Pizazz

This picture was taken just a few months ago. My mom, Nancy, started our longarm business over a decade ago and has taught me all the in's & out's of quilting. She's a fabulous coach and skill instructor! Occasionally, I post some of her work on my blog as well as mine. Below is a lovely chocolate brown and blue quilt she just finished for a customer & long time friend who's name also happens to be Nancy. The overall water-ripple meandering complimented the quilt without dominating it. The quilting added some needed pizazz without taking away from the snuggly feel of the colors and pattern. You go MOM!

This quilt was a large twin. Here it looks bigger than that, but it is because Mom loaded it lengthwise. This made doing the directional quilting much easier. (Another tip I was reminded of, I'm always learning from her!)

Quilting Around...last pics of the Epic Quiltathon

Something different in all 5 borders...

When I had taken the quilt off the machine and laid it out, I could see how the quilting had made the quilt...all the textures of all the different designs showed up beautifully.

The house was the center piece. I had a lot of fun with it.

This block turned out so elegant....

it was the perfect candidate for fancy, fussy quilting.

Here's the door on the front of the house. I decided it needed a doorknob, so I added one. It's slighly wrinkled in the middle because of being folded up after quilting. Brenda did a such a good job piecing the top; quilting it was a breeze. Thanks Brenda for giving me this opportunity to play!!!