A few of my own projects

Here a few of my own projects that I've been working on lately.  I'm making a quilt for J's bed, using a pattern from this book:
Scraps & Shirttails by Bonnie Hunter

I'm using red, white, and blue scraps from my collection of fabrics, and also some recycled cotton shirts.  I love this fabric with the words to the Pledge of Allegiance on it. 

This is a really easy pattern- you start off with 2.5" strips, 18" long.  I sewed 40 strips together, and then sub-cut into long 2.5" strips.  So far the body of the quilt you see here measures 62" x 80".  I'm going to add some borders, and I also saved 3 strips of 2.5" squares to put in the borders, too. 

And, here's a table runner I put together on Saturday (just the top- it's not quilted yet).

I used some leftover blocks from the border of this quilt:

Very easy & fast since the half-square triangle blocks were already done & just waiting for a home. 

Loading 2 quilts on one backing

I have a $30 minimum per quilt, but sometimes when there are 2 or 3 small quilts that can be mounted on a large backing I can waive the minimum charge.  This is especially true if the quilts are similar in size and can use the same thread color and pattern, like these quilts below. 

If I can use one large backing piece for all the quilts, I only have to mount that once on the frame, and this saves me time.  These quilts all had the same backing and thread color, so I just zipped the backings together with the serger & loaded the one large backing piece. 

T-shirt quilt

Some pictures of a customer's t-shirt quilt I quilted.  This is done using Dave Hudson's "Stars" pattern.  I haven't used this pattern often, but I really like how this turned out.  With most t-shirt quilts, I go right through the logo's on the shirts.  Unless there is a really thick section that may bend a needle or cause it to skip stitches.  Then I will go around that area.  Most of the time, I can go right through with no problems. 

A few recent quilts

If you're a Cyclone fan, you'll love this one!  All Cyclone fabrics, and a soft red flannel backing.  This was quilted using the "square spiral" quilting pattern.  It looks like I didn't get a picture of the whole quilt, just a close-up of the front.

And here's a small baby quilt panel- I outlined the printed borders, and added the "puzzle piece" pattern in the middle section.  One of my favorite patterns for a kids' quilt. 

And this is one quilted with "Hearts Surfing".  I think this is the first time I've used this pattern. 

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. 

Geometric Path

This is one of my own patterns, called Geometric Path- it's a good "non-flowery" pattern when you are looking for something geometric, and not too feminine.  Here I used it on a flannel boy quilt. 

some recent quilts....

Here are some recent quilts using 2 new patterns, and 2 older ones.....

This is a new pattern, called "Oodles of Doodles" designed by Patricia Ritter.  It's a swirly design- on this quilt I thought it would look like swirly snow & wind going throug the snowflakes on the fabric. 

A view of the back: 

And here's a pattern that I've used before, called "Along the Way"...

 View of the back:

Here's a new pattern called "Trim the Tree"- looks like ornaments hanging from pine boughs....

 And this one I've used before, called "Starry Nights". 

 View of the back:

Doggy bones pattern

Here's a cute doggy quilt that I thought some dog bones would look cute on.  So, I came up with this pattern.  I think it turned out sweet. 

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