The weather was very cold last night for the first time this month, and I started thinking again about working with flannels. Then, my sister surprised me today with pictures of quilts I made for her and her family. Among the pictures, was this flannel one I made for her 16-year-old daughter, Amanda. As I mentioned before, when working with flannels I prefer to use less complicated blocks. The quilting is simple as well, to maintain the soft hand of the project. This pattern is found in … [Read more...] about Flannel Quilt
Winter Wonderland
(I tried four times, still not a good picture!) I have another block completed for the Winter Wonderland Crabapple Hill quilt... I know I am not going slowly - I am crawling with this one - but I guess it is a labor of love, right? At this pace, this quilt will take a few years to finish!!! My friend Celeste finished hers in one year, Roxanne in three. Anywhere in between will suit me fine. Traditionally, monochromatic embroidery work is done in red, blue, green or black. Mrs. … [Read more...] about Winter Wonderland
Our Garden Quilt
Guess what I was doing at 3:30 am this morning? Binding a quilt! Yep, lost sleep around 2:30 am and, after a while, decided it was a waste of time staying awake in bed. So, here is my finished beauty: I love it! The block I made is on the top left (strawberries). All the other blocks were made by friends from our quilt guild. Their work is amazing, and 27 of us ended up with a beautiful quilt... Blocks were done using different techniques: machine embroidery, hand applique, machine applique, … [Read more...] about Our Garden Quilt
Machine quilting – thin or thick needles?
This weekend I started quilting my garden quilt, the one made up of 27 blocks we exchanged in our quilt guild last December. I decided to use monofilament thread (polyester), as there are a variety of background fabrics and colors, and the quilting would not compete with the beautiful blocks. I was frustrated when I noticed I only had large quilting needles! I have quilted my projects on my Bernina 440QE for the past 7 years without ever worrying about the size of needle I was using. I've used … [Read more...] about Machine quilting – thin or thick needles?
My first surface design quilt
Remember the work I did at Anne Munoz's and Lisa Chin's class at Quilt Fest in St. George? Here it is: And here it is, quilted. I love the way it turned out! I call it "We All Shine" because that is how I feel about all of us - we have different talents, shine for different reasons, but are all brilliant in our own right! I quilted it with metallic thread around and inside each sun and dots, then used Sulky variegated thread to do the [tiny] stippling on the background. Before I applied … [Read more...] about My first surface design quilt
Tip for a portable design wall
Margo, from Idaho Falls, was in Karen Combs' class with me last Saturday. She gave me a great tip she learned from another quilter, on how to put together a quick and portable design wall: She used 2 dowels, 6 huge paper clips (clamps), and a cardboard cutting mat. Fold the outside flaps in, hold one of the dowels behind it, clamp it with 3 of the clips. Then, turn it end to end, and repeat. The design wall is large enough, light, and you can pin your blocks onto it when you are not … [Read more...] about Tip for a portable design wall