Kite quilt

Isn't this a cute baby quilt?  A nice change from the snow & wind outside here in Iowa!  It makes me think of warm spring days.  This was quilted using the "Here Comes the Sun" pattern.  A neat way to use up some colorful scraps in your stash. 

Oodles of Doodles pattern

A few Christmas quilts, that were quilted using the "Oodles of Doodles" pattern.  I think it looks like swirling snow/wind on these quilts.  It's a nice all-over pattern that has even coverage & texture. 

Loading a quilt on the frame

I took some pictures lately, showing how a quilt was loaded on the frame... I thought this might be interesting to share here on my blog. 

First the backing is pinned (wrong-side up) to the canvas leaders on the back bar & the lower front bar....  The fabric is not pulled tight, but just enough tension so it will lay flat between the 2 bars. 

Then one side of the quilt top is pinned to the leader on the top front bar, and the other side is loose. 

Then, the bar that holds the quilt top is raised, so that the batting can be laid in between the two layers of fabric.

I lower the bar again, and baste around the edge of the quilt top with the quilting machine. See how the batting is sandwiched in between the quilt top & the backing.... 

After this, I can quilt a section of quilt, and then roll up each completed section on the back bar. 

Eventually, the whole quilt will be rolled up on the back bar, and will be completed.  Then I can un-pin the quilt & take it off of the frame. 

And, here are some pictures of the quilt that was on the frame when I took the pictures-  this was made for a 4-H project, and it's her first quilt!  She really did a great job with piecing a large quilt.  The stars seem to dance across the quilt top, with the lighter & darker purple fabrics & the way it's pieced.  Very pretty.

It was quilted with an all-over swirly design, using light purple thread. 

quilt labels

If you are like me, you put off making labels for your quilts, and sometimes it just doesn't get done.  Now, I can make labels with my embroidery machine, and really speed things up.  Here's a sample of a label.  I haven't trimmed it to size yet, or added any other embroidery, you can get an idea of how the lettering would look.

If you'd like a label made for your next quilt, let me know.  I could apply it to your backing before or after it's quilted.  Just let me know the personalization you want. 

I can also personalize the front of your quilt, too.  If you'd like the recipient's name or other message.  Here's a little sample on a scrap-

If you'd like this done on your quilt, let me know the color & placement of the word(s) you'd like. 

Having fun with embroidery

I've  recently entered the world of embroidery machines.  Here are some projects that I've done to get familiar with my machine. 

These are two cotton tea towels for drying dishes, personalized on the corner with some fun kitchen embroidery & names.  There are some really neat details on these patterns, they are about 3.5" wide in size. 

And here are some zippered bags I made, it was fun to try out some designs I found on the internet.  So much fun to personalize things with names & these fun patterns.