More QOVs

Posted on March 24, 2015 by katyquilts

i was off yesterday from the library job so I spent the day quilting. No surprise there, right? I was able to get two more QOVs quilted. I believe the pattern of this first one is called Striped and Spangled. 

    

It was made by Susan of the Stitching Sisters. One thing that I never thought much about before owning a long arm, is the direction in which the top is mounted. This top was mounted in the frame with the strips perpendicular to the rollers on the frame. I would have preferred to mount it with the strips parallel to the rollers. Then I could have completed the quilting on each strip before going on to the next rather than quilting the strips piecemeal.

So, why did I mount it as I did? Because the backing was pieced with a horizontal seam. The best thing to do in that case is to mount the backing with the seam parallel to the rollers. Otherwise, the extra fabric in the seam creates a big bump of fabric as it is rolled onto the backing bar and it is difficult to keep the backing pucker free. All this is to say, even the backing can influence the quilting design choices. Who would have thought?

If you are still with me, here is the second quilt I quilted yesterday. The piecing was magnificent! 

This one required several thread changes. I used Superior Monoply with black Glide in the bottom for the SID ruler work, the border feathers, and to quilt around the design in the medallion. I used Glide thread in white for the meander in the blocks.  I wanted to make sure the piecing took center stage and the quilting played a supporting role. Here are a couple shots of the back which is black, not gray as the pictures show. 

  

Have a happy Tuesday! Linking up with Free Motion by the River and I Have to Say….

Posted in Machine quilting, Quilt of Valor | 8 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on March 23, 2015 by katyquilts

I am making slow but steady progress on my City Sampler blocks. 

 

I am really enjoying working with solids here!

QOV week is also in full swing here. I finished another yesterday. This top was made by Joan from the Stitching Sisters group. 

 

I quilted a freehand swirled feather design on this one. It was a nice break from pantographs. I thought it would be faster too. Nope! I can’t keep myself from close quilting!  

 

The backing is actually navy blue but this picture shows the quilting well so I will include it as well. 

 I used Premosoft thread from Fil-Tec.  The next top is loaded and I hope to get this one done today. 

I really like this pattern, simply sewn from strips with stars machine appliquéd. It was made by Susan, also from the SS group.

Time to get quilting! Linking up with Patchwork Times for DWMonday.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Another QOV

Posted on March 22, 2015 by katyquilts

I really need to come up with a better photography system in my sewing room. I have daylight fluorescents lights and, being in a basement, the ceiling is low. I have a convenient place to hang a quilt on my wire basket system but that means one of these lights is right at the top of the quilt causing some serious issues in getting a decent picture. 

All that is said to explain the bad pictures of a lovely quilt! This Quilt of Valor top was pieced by my friend, Terri, from the Stitching Sisters QOV group. 

I love quilting Terri’s tops. They are always beautifully pieced and pressed. Not a ripple or wave in those borders! I used Superior Threads Magnifico thread on this one and a panto called Loop the Loop.  

   

I have another QOV loaded. Now I just have to decide how I want to quilt it!

Happy Sunday!

I said to myself, “Relax and rest. GOD has showered you with blessings. Soul, you’ve been rescued from death; Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears; And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.” (‭Psalm‬ ‭116‬:‭7-8‬ MSG)

Posted in Pantographs, Quilt of Valor | 2 Comments

Happy National Quilting Day!

Posted on March 21, 2015 by katyquilts

it has been a wonderful Quilty week around here. In addition to my sewing time this week,  I was able to meet up yesterday with a couple members of my Stitching Sisters QOV group. We had a nice chat and I picked up some more tops to be quilted. So that means, it is QOV week here! I came home and loaded the first one up and finished it last night.  

 

  

 This lovely pinwheel top was pieced by Susan. This is the panto I used: 

 I used Affinity red/white/blue variegated thread from FIL-Tec. Of course I couldn’t wait to load the next one. This beautiful top was pieced by Terri. Isn’t it beautiful? 

 I got a couple rows quilted early this morning and hope to finish this after work this afternoon.

In other fun news, I won a ribbon this week at our local guild show. 

  

 I will share other pictures from the show in a post next week.

Have a wonderful day! 

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Finish It Up Friday ~ Fiesta!

Posted on March 20, 2015 by katyquilts

I am so very happy with this week’s finish!  My dear MIL has provided the perfect name for it, Fiesta!  This is my favorite quilt finish so far this year.

The finished quilt measures 36″ x 42″.  I used most of a layer cake from Missouri Star Quilt Company, along with some solid scraps from my stash. You can find a free pattern on Craftsy of a similar quilt here. Mine has 3 inch finished HSTs.

I had so many great ideas regarding the color of quilting thread to use! I ended up going with Glide thread in a color called Khaki. In the bobbin, I used Superior Threads So Fine in lime green to match the back. Many people say to never use different color threads in the top and bottom but it worked fine for me on this quilt. I used Warm & White batting.

I had a blast playing with the quilting!

I was asked about the extra batting in this binding picture that I showed yesterday. 

This is actually the first time I have done this. I wanted to make sure that the points of my HSTs were not covered by the binding and I still wanted the binding to be full. So I trimmed the batting and backing a 1/4 inch beyond the top and wrapped it around, hand stitching on the back. It worked  out quite well!


Thanks for bearing with all my pictures. I like to be able to go back and remember how I did things!

Linking up with Confession of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?, Richard and Tanya Quilts for LAFF, Lizzie Lenard Vintage Sewing for Free Motion Mavericks, and Preetty Bobbins for IQuilt.

Posted in Finishes, Free Motion Quilting | 34 Comments

Thursday

Posted on March 19, 2015 by katyquilts

I have a bit  of this and that gong on again this week. I have made 3 more blocks for my City Sampler quilt.

These finish at 6 inches. I plan to use all solids, one color in several shades for each block.

I finished quilting the HST quilt and got the machine sewing  of the binding on.



I had a quilt guild meeting last night and turned in my Goose in the Pond blocks. I had planned to work on the hand stitching of the HST binding but forgot my thread. Grrrr……

I hit a small milestone on Instagram this week.



Who would have thought that 500 people would be interested in my daily sewing? 

Linking up with My Quilt Infatuation for NTT.

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

WIP Wednesday

Posted on March 18, 2015 by katyquilts

I started another long term project this week. If you recall, Daughter #1 gave me this book for my birthday. 

I decided, I would use all solids for the blocks. I have no time table for this project. I pulled out some bits of greens and blues for this first block.

It didn’t take long to make the first block!

And now it gets its own project box. 

Now, which block shall I make today?

Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday and Sew Fresh Quilts for Let’s Bee Sewcial.

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

A Wonderful Gift!

Posted on March 17, 2015 by katyquilts

Mondays are laundry days for me. I don’t work at the library on Mondays and after the weekend, we always seem to have plenty to wash. But not today. Mr. Wonderful did our laundry on Sunday afternoon so I could have more time to sew today. Wasn’t that sweet? And then, Daughter #3 made dinner so I didn’t even have to cook! I made good use of my time too. Remember these?

 

They got all sewn up into this:

I even got it loaded onto the frame! Now, I just have to decide what thread to use for the quilting.

 

I always struggle with this decision. I don’t have a huge selection of long arm thread yet.  What are your go to colors for machine quilting?

Hoping to get the quilting on this done before work today.  Linking up with Free Motion by the River for Linky Tuesday and I have to Say for Show and Tell Tuesday. Also linking up with Quilting Jet Girl for Thankful Thursday.

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments

Design Wall Monday

Posted on March 16, 2015 by katyquilts

This weekend I finally finished my Goose in the Pond swap blocks..

There are actually 15 of them but my design wall is full so I just put these on the floor for a picture. I love these blocks but at 77 pieces in each one, they were a bit much for a block exchange!  They finish at 15″ so they are pretty big.

I have also played around with the layout of this quilt some more.

I would like to get this top pieced this week. I also have to get labels on a couple quilts for a local show and drop them off Wednesday before work. Friday I will be driving an hour south to meet up with a member of Stitching Sisters to pick up more QOVs to quilt. And this weekend is the local quilt show. So it is shaping up to be a busy quilting week without much stitching time!

Linking up with Patchwork Times for DWMonday.



Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Playing Around

Posted on March 15, 2015 by katyquilts

I’ve  been wanting to try quilting on silk. I went to JoAnns yesterday to look at some but decided it was way too pricy for just playing around! Yikes! So I went home and found some random bits of fabric in my stash to play with. I used white taffeta on the bottom, Warm and White batting scraps, and some crinkly nylon and an iridescent prom dress type fabric in the top. It was so fun just doodling and it turned out way better than I expected! Here are some (probably too many) pictures. First the nylon:



And this is an iridescent royal blue/purple polyester something or other:



The triangular shaped piece is the reverse side of the fabric..I found it nearly impossible to get the purple to show in the pictures.  I used Glide thread. Here is a shot of the back side.

And an overall.

Not sure what I will do with these bits. Maybe make some zippered bags? I think that iridescent stuff has som real potential for some fancy table runners. I may have to go back to JoAnns later today!

Happy Sunday!

Posted in Free Motion Quilting, HQ Avante, Machine quilting | 3 Comments