After a very slow start, this quilt is really moving along! I have a love/hate relationship with these blue washout pens, but I did use one here.
I like to mark my cross hatching ahead of time. I also marked the spines of my feathers.
That means I have to wash this when I’m done.
Come back tomorrow for my finish! Have a great day!
All the fusing of pieces is done for the Eagle quilt.
I decided this needs a sawtooth border.
I also need to figure out what to add in the middle of the four blocks.
Things are coming together here. I’m starting to think about the quilting.
Have a great day!
When I bought my first long arm, I didn’t think I would ever use pantographs. Boy, was I wrong! Don’t get me wrong, I love free motion work, ruler work etc., but pantos have their place.
Pantographs assure even density in quilting across the surface of the quilt.
They are perfect for quilts that will get washed a lot, like baby quilts.
And often, the quilting design is secondary to the piecing. That is why I use pantos most of the time for QOVs.
There are so many amazing designs these days as well. Gotta love this texture!
When I bought a bigger long arm, I hadn’t thought much about using bigger pantos until my friend, Lynn, opened my eyes. She told me about ordering custom sizes to take advantage of the bigger throat on my machine. That was a light bulb moment for me! I ordered a few and loved them!
Twice a year, Urban Elementz has a 25% off everything sale. I wait for these sales! I thought I missed it this year, but it is going on right now and ends December 9th. My wish list is long. 🙄 So far, I’ve narrowed things down to this:
If you’ve been wanting one of the Dream Big panels, they have those also.
I think I need to find a way to better organize my panto collection!
Have a great day!
This post contains affiliate links.
Remember when I was working on this?
I wasn’t quite satisfied and someone suggested adding navy. I finally got around to picking some up and got some pieces prepped and cut so I could try out a few other options.
Nope.
Nope.
Nope.
Yes!
After I fused the pieces of the first block in place, I placed the second block on top so I could use the first as a placement guide. This worked really well.
This quilt has been on my bucket list for a long time. I’m glad to finally move forward on it.
Have a great day!
Linking up with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Hand quilting on this vintage top has begun! Believe it or not, I decided against Baptist Fans this time. I thought I would do hanging diamonds, but it didn’t seem like enough quilting. So I added lines in another direction and got all over triangles.
You can see what I mean here.
I wanted something I didn’t have to mark. I’m still not sure this is enough quilting for my taste, but I’ll forge ahead for now.
Have a great day!
Here are the goals I set for November:
1. At the top of my list is the I Spy quilt for Little L. Done!
2. Quilt 5 QOV tops. Done!
3. Finish the Military Mystery top. Not done. But I did finish the blocks so this will be a quick finish when I get back to it.
What else did I do?
I made this tiny nine patch.
I finished the vintage Seven Sisters quilt.
And I finished the dinosaur quilt for E2’s birthday.
I also finished Daughter #3’s modern quilt, but I will share that in a week or so.
December.
How did that even happen? I’ll be traveling for two weeks this month and then there is that little holiday towards the end of the month…..so, should I even bother setting goals?
I THINK NOT!
I have to decide which quilts will go into my local guild’s show this spring and get my forms mailed in by the end of the month. That is my only deadline.
Have a great day!
Done and dusted! This was a really quick, fun project. With large pieces, this top came together in just two days. It would have been less, but I was debating those last borders.
This center panel has E2’s favorite dinosaurs, T-Wreck and Tri ser tots. 😄
I wanted this to be the coziest blanket ever so I used a fleece blanket that Mr. Wonderful picked up at Sam’s Club for the back.
It quilted up beautifully with a thin layer of poly batting.
It’s a perfect fit for a twin bed. I cannot wait until the party on Sunday to give this to my little guy!
Oh, almost forgot , someone asked where these fabrics came from. I found them at Hancock’s of Paducah. Just search for dinosaurs on their site and they will come up.
Have a great day!
Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict , Busy Hands Quilts , Summer Lee Quilts
I get asked all the time about what batting I use. My standard answer is, it all depends. Helpful, right?
But it’s true!
For hand quilting, I like Quilter’s Dream Cotton Request. It is 100% cotton and easy to needle, but it also feels sturdy and it gives vintage tops the look I like.
When I do use poly batting, I want something lightweight. I prefer Fairfield Poly Featherweight. It is great for t shirt quilts and quilts with a minky type of backing. It adds loft, but not weight.
For Quilts of Valor, and most of my own quilts, I use a cotton/poly blend. The poly adds a bit more loft which can be more forgiving than 100% cotton if a top is not perfectly flat to begin with. I most often buy Pellon Legacy 80/20. I like this batting a lot, partly because it is reasonably priced and I go through a lot. I also like Hobbs 80/20.
It shrinks up a bit when washing to give the crinkle I love, but thanks to the poly, it retains the texture.
For my tiniest quilts, I love using Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% Cotton batting. It has to be quilted 1/4 inch apart of it will fall apart. Sadly, it is no longer produced. I’ve snagged a few rolls at estate sales.
I hope this is helpful. Have a great day!
Many thanks again for all of your kind comments on my blog. Some literally brought me to tears.
I have drawn the winners and without further ado (drumroll please!), here they are!
Aby Dolinger, who wrote:
Congratulations for running your blog for ten years. That is a lot of projects made, photographed and explained. The Scripture verses you print are a blessing as well!
Lizzie, who wrote:
Love your quilts. Either way is fine by me…I make both. If I had the choice it would be traditional from you as I love your vintage fabrics.
Black Eyed Susan, who wrote:
What fun! Who doesn’t love a give-a-way although I’m never the winner. I just sponsored a new quilter for one of my guilds & she has been winning EVERYTHING since she joined (including the mother-lode of FQ’s at the show!) 1 way to get everyone to know your name LOL so will sign MINE & not hers! Susan R
Carolyn, who wrote:
Goodness, I don’t know how you find time to do all your quilts, let alone blog about them! Congrats and thanks so much for sharing your quilting and family. You are very generous to give away your treasures. I always love traditional!
Doris, who wrote:
Congrats on your 10 year anniversary. What a great giveaway! Modern is my choice.
Eileen Emerson, who wrote:
Happy 10th Anniversary Katy! Love stalking you and your creations from my neck of the world (Northern NY State). lol I find that both Modern and Traditional both have their charms with my heart. I really love that ladder modern one, reminds me to reach for the moon, and even if I miss I’ll land amongst the stars.
Congratulations and please know you are an inspiration.
Linda West, who wrote:
Congratulations on 10 years! I read your blog every morning. I prefer contemporary but like traditional also.
Cathy Buel, who wrote:
Happy Blogiversary. I love your little quilts. I have always been a traditional quilter but now I am loving modern. Hugs
Sara Wright, who wrote:
Traditional that’s what drew me to your blog!
Donna Gross, who wrote:
Happy blogiversery, Katy. Thank you for your inspiration and instruction on your blog and in person. Here is to many more years. I love traditional.
Please send your mailing addresses to me at Sew4given AT aol DOT com and I will mail them out ASAP.
Thanks so much for playing along! Have a great day!
I want to begin this post by telling you all how overwhelmed I was with all of your sweet comments on my blogiversary post yesterday. You are all so very kind. There is still time to leave a comment on yesterday’s post if you would like to enter the giveaway. I will be drawing winners at midnight tonight and announcing on Thursday. On to today’s business.
I finally got this top done for Daughter #3. She wanted me to quilt a random grid on it. This is how I do it. I load the top and using my channel lock, I quilt several straight ones across the top. I don’t mark of measure anything.
Then I remove the channel locks and add freehand lens in between until the density’s about what I’m looking for. I’m not looking for perfection and my spacing varies from an inch down to about half of an inch.
Here’s a look at the back so far.
And the front.
After I’ve done the entire quilt, I remove it from the frame, turn it 90 degrees and load it again.
This is a bit trickier than it sounds! Then I repeat the same process until the entire top is filled in.
Looks pretty good so far!
It is like quilting the whole thing twice, but the results are so worth it.
Have a great day!
KatyQuilts 