Dresden Plate

I adore the colours and design of this quilt made by Vicki as a birthday present for her mother in law.

Although I quilted it several weeks ago,  I held off posting pictures until after the birthday party.  You can see Vicki's post about making the quilt here.

This was a pleasure to quilt.  As Vicki didn’t want heavy quilting, I ditch stitched the centre and outer edge of the Dresden Plate as well as the blocks.  I quilted a feather on each Dresden Plate, continuous curved the cream blocks in the sashing, and quilted a feather in the border.

I love how the quilting shows on the back.

Pop over to Esther's Blog to see what other people are working on with her WIP Wednesdays.

Dancing Dollies Quilt

This is the second time I have quilted this pretty design by Trish Harper called Dancing Dollies. 

Made by Alita as a present for a young girl, we decided to do an allover freehand daisy pattern which is soft and pretty.

The first time I quilted this design I custom quilted it.  If you want to have a look at this version, please click here.

Coffee Quilt

Sometimes fabrics in a quilt really appeal, and this is one that draws me – it is so warm and inviting, and makes me crave a hot chocolate.

Jeanette made this quilt as a present for her son and daughter in law for their combined 30th birthdays.  She had the fabric selected for a couple of years, earmarked for this special event.

It was quilted with an allover freehand whirlpool design to compliment the swirls of steam on the fabric.

Australia Canada Quilt

In December I stop  taking custom quilting jobs, and schedule more allover quilting so I can get more quilts done for my customers before Christmas, as most of them are Christmas presents at this time of year.  I have only a couple more to do this year and most of the quilts I have done this month have already been collected so they can be bound in time.

This hasn’t left me much time for writing my blog.  But I have taken photos of a couple of the allover quilts I have done that have caught my eye, and will share them in the next couple of posts.

 

What I liked about this quilt by Coral is the story behind it.

Coral’s grandson moved to Canada to work.  He met a lovely Canadian woman while he was there, and in October last year they got married. 

They are both coming back to Australia to live, and she wanted to make her grandson’s wife something special that combined both Australia and Canada.  She made a quilt in Canada’s colours that had both the Canadian Maple Leaf and the Australian Waratah.

I think this is a special quilt, with a special story.

Pop over to Esther's Blog to see what other poeple are working on with her WIP Wednesdays.

Mystery Quilt No. 4

Karen from my local patchwork shop, Somerset Patchwork and Quilting, asked me if I would like to teach another mystery quilt workshop as part of her summer school next year - scheduled for Saturday the 14th of January 2012.

So I set about designing and making a brand new mystery quilt.  I am pleased to say I have finished piecing the top, and am happy with how the design looks.

I can’t show you the finished quilt just yet, but here are the fabrics I used.

Electric Blue

Teena made this very cool and modern quilt as a Christmas present for her daughter-in-law.   I love the colours and the design.  It is so fresh and striking.

It was quilted with a freehand allover pattern of echoing wavy lines which I think look like ripples in a pond.

Pop over to Esther’s Blog to see what other quilter are doing this Wednesday.

A Collingwood Quilt

I am making a Collingwood quilt for my nephew.

A few months back, a customer brought me a great Collingwood quilt, and I asked her where she got the fabric/emblem for the top.  She said it was from a doona cover that she bought online.  So I ordered one for myself.  I chopped up the doona cover and this is what I have made.

I am also working on another black and white quilt, but this is a coincidence, and this is not a Collingwood quilt.  I have a black, white and red striped fabric which I think I will use as the binding just so I have added another colour in the mix.

I think I might quilt feathers along the grey strips.  This is a present for my sister, and I know she likes feathers.

Feather Background

This quilt was made by Debbie. Although the background was made with the same fabric over the entire quilt, I wanted to break it into three areas – the appliqué border, the pieced border, and the centre.

To do this, I quilted two backgrounds. Small curls around the pieced border, and feathers in the other two areas. I love the texture and movement the feathers give, which is in keeping with the traditional style and fabrics of the quilt.

Pop over to Esther's Blog to see what other people are working on with her WIP Wednesdays.

A Quilt with a Difference

I have been quilting for Judy for a few years now. I have learnt to expect the unexpected from her and this quilt was no different.

Judy wanted the circle part of the blocks to stand out, so we decided I would ditch stitch and continuous curve them with a small feather in the centre.

Even though it was a completely different style of quilt, Judy liked what I had done on a earlier quilt by Margaret (to see Margaret's quilt click here), and we decided that I would feather the remainder of the quilt with the feathers curling out from circular wreaths on the four feature fabric blocks.

Judy chose an electric blue thread, and because she gave me a white back, the quilting is really striking.

Pop over to Esther's Blog to see what other quilters are doing this Wednesday.

Feather Allover

Janet loves feathers, so we decided that I would do an allover freehand feather winding up and down the quilt.  I usually prefer more random feathers, but as the front of the quilt is pieced in orderly strips, if felt like more orderly feathers were called for on this one.

Floating a Quilt – Tutorial

Kathy asked in the comments of my previous post if I float my quilts.  The answer is yes, and I thought I would share my method.

There are different ways of loading a quilt, and the best way depends on the preferences of the quilter.  I prefer to float my quilt as I feel it gives me more control, and I am better able to see any issues as I am working through the quilt.

First I load the backing by pinning it to the rollers.  I lay the wadding on the top of it, and then the quilt top, ensuring that the top is straight and square on the machine. 

I then tack along the top edge of the quilt.

You can see in the picture that this quilt is extremely well pieced and is hanging straight on the machine.  However if there were issues like a wavy border, or fullness in places, I would be able to clearly see it and be able to take steps to correct them.

These photos show the quilt on my A1 machine.  Those with the same machine will see I have removed the top front roller.  I don’t use this roller and found it got in my way.  

I roll the quilt forward and tack down the sides.

After quilting or stabilising the available area, I roll the quilt forward, tacking down the sides as I go.  I check to ensure the sides are straight as I tack them down.  I also check that the lines in the piecing are straight and square.

 

I continue quilting, rolling the quilt forward and tacking down the sides until I get to the end of the quilt.  Then I tack down the bottom of the quilt.

 

 

If you want to see this quilt completed – click here.

The above photos are on my A1 machine and I follow the same procedure on my APQS.

I haven’t removed the top roller on my APQS as it doesn’t get in the way like on the A1.  I use it to line up the quilts to ensure they are square and it is handy to lean on. 

3D Baltimore

This exquisitely stitched appliqué quilt was made by Pam, and if you look closely at the photos you can see that many of the flowers are individually made and stitched on.

Pam asked me to background fill around her appliqué to make it pop, which I did with a small curl design, and to quilt feathers in the border.

 

Medallion Quilt in Liberty Fabrics

Lisa made this pretty and feminine quilt in Liberty fabrics from a pattern by Judy Newman.

Kathy, of Tamarack Shack had pictured on her blog a feather motif that incorporated hearts that I really liked, and I used this as inspiration for the feather design I quilted around the centre appliqué motif.  To see the blog post with the quilting motif I used as inspiration, click here.

I am so glad Lisa chose a plain back so all the quilting shows beautifully.

Pop over to Esther's Blog to see what other people are working on with her WIP Wednesdays.