Boxy Stars Wall Hanging

Recently I was asked by a potential customer what I could do on the following wall hanging:

I quickly sketched out a few ideas on my phone and emailed them to my client. She liked my ideas and decided to have me quilt it for her. She really wanted lots of feathers so she picked the design at the top right.

I used tiny micro stippling to really pack down and add texture to the negative space. I did this on manual mode and at about 80% speed. It gave me quite the workout because you are constantly moving your arms!

First I stitched around the blocks, then I did the micro stippling, last I did the feathers in the blocks. I really liked how nice and puffy the blocks looked before the feathers. I even second guessed myself once I started on the feathers! It would have looked nice both ways but I really love the end result!

I used two layers of a poly batting that the client supplied (I believe it may have been dream poly) and So Fine #50 #401.

I really wouldn't recommend this much quilting on an everyday quilt, but this was going to be a wall hanging. For an everyday, use on the bed, keep me warm kind of quilt you want a much looser quilting. A quilt keeps you warm by keeping warm air trapped in the poofy spaces between the layers of the quilt. Quilting is necessary to keep the layers from shifting. Too much quilting will result in a less warm quilt because there are no air pockets to keep you warm! Keep that in mind when you are deciding what type of quilting to choose.

Thank you for letting me quilt this for you Iaci! I had so much fun doing it.

Neptune Quilt

In February I challenged myself to pull out another UFO (un-finished object.) This quilt was one I started to quilt when I first purchased my longarm machine. I usually bite off more than I can chew and started custom quilting this quilt without really knowing what I was doing. I was just learning, so I don't know what I was thinking! The tension on this quilt is really bad and that is why it got shoved into a box for a few years.

When I pulled it out I thought I would unpick all of my quilting. This was a very daunting task and rather than do that, I decided to just finish it and let this become a learning opportunity and the quilt will become a play quilt once I put the binding on. Actually it doesn't look horrible from the front so I could hang it on the wall, which I may do once my sewing room is complete.

Recipe for Friendship

In January I had a lull in customer quilts so I pulled out one of my own UFO's (un-finished objects.) This is a quilt I made for my daughter before I got my long arm. In fact it was already spray basted together. I used my domestic machine to quilt around the applique (using a straight stitch) and mono-poly thread from Superior Threads.

It took a little creativity to load an already basted and partially quilted quilt, but I managed to do it and didn't have any problems.

I custom quilted this one. I added double feathers in the patchwork blocks, continuous curves in the border around the little girl, and traditional feathers in the background behind the little girl.

This was really fun to quit for my little girl. Currently (May) it is hanging in her room awaiting binding! Maybe I will get it done for her birthday in a few weeks.

Neptune Quilt

Don’t forget that the Penny meander sale is still going on! More details here.

~ Norma