Sharon's Raw-Edge Flowers

I really had to sit-and-stare at this baby quilt before I decided what kind of quilting. I've taken it out of the bag several times and just looked at it and then put it back.

I wanted to keep the definition of the flowers, so I just stitched close to her stitching and it turned out pretty good. A meander around the flowers, Ribbon candy in the sashing and inner borders, and swirl/feather/pointy design in the outer border. I can't for the life of me remember what I might have called this border before.

 PermaCore Lilac thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

I like the back of the flowers too!

Lois' Pink and Green Half-Square Triangles

Lois made this sweet lap quilt and I loaded it and quilted it after we got home yesterday.

I used a new panto, Imperial Butterfly, Hobbs 80/20 batting and Omni cream thread.  It's not really new, I just think that I've never used it before.  I received a roll of Fairfield 70/30 batting last week, si I will give that batting a try in the next couple of weeks.

Here's a couple close-ups of the quilting design.

Tennessee Weekend

We drove to Tennessee this past weekend to visit Dan's son, Kale and his wife Lynn.  They bought a house and we were their first overnight guests.

We worked in the yard all day Sunday. Lynn and I pulled weeds from the front and side of the house.

Dan and Kale took care of the mowing. Their yard is a little under an acre, so there's lots of mowing in the front.

Not so much in the back as you can see a bit of the backyard here. They are planning to terrace the back into a garden area. That will be a lot of work.

I don't drink much anymore and more than a glass of wine makes me a bit loopy, as you can see here. No operating machinery for me!

Rosemary's Black and White with a Splash of Lime

Here is the last of Rosemary's quilts. Again, I just love what she has done with these fabrics. It's just my style!

On Facebook, I called it Lime-a-rita. I guess because I've been seeing those new drinks I want to try with that name.

I used Button Flower panto as I though it worked well with the oh-so cute fabrics. Hobbs 80/20 batting and Omni Cream thread.

The back is a batik. Love the sun shining through!

Carla's Baby Dresses Quilt

Carla made another one of these adorable baby quilts. I just love this panel.

The added cornerstones of purses is just too cute!

I quilted a small meander in the background of the blocks and in the area outside of the rick-rack of the print, leaving the rick-rack and the dresses without any quilting.

Freehand flowers and leaves in the outer borders.

Hobbs 80/20 batting and Omni Cream thread.

Sudoku Quilts For Kids

Out Quilts For Kids Chapter held a Sew 'n Meet last Saturday and I taught the group how to make a Sudoku Quilt. Some quilters finished theirs and some took them home to complete.

Here is my sample, which has 5" squares.

I wanted a very neutral lap quilt. I used fat quarters and the remaining fabrics will be pieced together to add a 6-8" border.

This one was my demo quilt and I had a block partially assembled to show each step. These squares were 4", so I added an additional border. I finished assembling this at home Saturday evening.

This one I made with a kit of 4.5" squares that Cathy had precut. It's all batiks and I like it very much.

The Quilts For Kids quilts that are made through this group are taken to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis once a month. The size is 40-45" square. They try to make them small enough to fit on the width of fabric, so the backing doesn't need to be pieced.

An Antique Quilt

Chris and her mom, Julie brought me this quilt top. It was made by Julie's mother, probably 50-70 years ago. Of course it was hand pieced and the fabrics look to be quite worn. Julie wanted to have it quilted to give to her granddaughter as a wedding gift. It was a rush job as the only chance to get it to the happy couple was this week, otherwise it would need to be shipped overseas.

I quilted a simple meander and varied the size based on the fullness of an area. You can see how the size changes here. I don't think it will be as noticeable after it's washed, and expect it will crinkle nicely.

 Easing in some of that fullness!

Ta-da! The backing is just muslin, as is the binding, which I put on last week.

Lois' 1600 Quilt, Thread and Bobbins!

Now, here is a 1600 quilt that I really like. I'm not sure if she used a jelly roll or just put the fabrics together herself. Either way, it's a striking 1600 quilt.

I used a new panto that I picked up in Cincinnati called Becker's Ferns. I think it works well for this quilt. I used PermaCore Bambi thread.

Speaking of thread.....

I am slowly but surely using up my PermaCore thread. It's what came with Mabel and I have had wonderful results with it. When Superior Threads came out with Omni, I tried it and had great results with it also. Maybe just a bit better than the PermaCore and it's a little cheaper.

I usually try to check my stitches within the first few minutes of starting a quilt, but sometimes I just get to focused on the quilt and forget until I do that first advance. 95% of the time the stitches are perfect. The 5% that it isn't, It's usually something minor to fix.  I have determined that the black bobbins that you can buy for around $1 each aren't exactly the same thickness as the $3 bronze ones. The black ones cause me to have random flat lines with my top thread. It took me quite a while to figure out the problem, but Dan measured the bobbins with a micrometer and that's what the problem seems to be.

A Baby Quilt for Ryan

Ryan worded at The National Group last summer as an intern. She is expecting her first baby in a month or so and did a lot of research online t find just the right quilt. They didn't find out the sex of the baby, so she wanted neutral colors.

She found one on Etsy that she really liked and we went shopping at Joann's a few months ago to purchase some similar fabrics. I put the top together at Spring Break Retreat and then put it aside. I knew they were moving to Michigan in may, so my goal was to have it finished by then.

Margaret and I met Ryan at Little Mexico a couple weeks ago for dinner and here is Ryan with her quilt.

I used some of the leftover fabrics to make some burp cloths to match.

Rosemary's Brown Batiks

Here's another beautiful quilt made by Rosemary. She has been a busy quilter this spring. Actually, I've had these quilts for a while, so she probably had a busy winter! I'm not sure why this photo is so blurry. I'll try to remember to take another.

I chose Becker's Ferns for this one also and used PermaCore Bambi thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

 Aren't these fabrics just yummy!

A look at the back, where you can see more of the quilting design:

Levi's T-Shirt Quilt

I got a call a few months ago from a dad asking about quilting a t-shirt quilt that had been made for his son who is graduating this month.  We worked out the details over the phone and he brought the quilt to me in April.

It was such a pleasure working with Walt and Becky. They brought the quilt, the backing, which was a very soft cotton sheet, and the batting, all in a rubbermaid tote. We decided on meandering with a gray/silver thread Onmi thread and the batting is cotton.

I finished it last week and he picked it up on Monday. Whoever put this one together did and EXCELLENT job. It layed perfectly flat and the layout is just stunning! How cute is this block?

I put the binding on and added a hanging sleeve for them.

Rosemary's Pinwheels

This quilt is just CUTE! I love the pinwheels that the flying geese make, love the fabrics and it is a simple design, but very effective.

She chose Baptist Fan as the quilting design and says she may have a new favorite quilting design. Which is good news to me, as I love my Circle Lord Baptist Fan templates!

Rosemary's Blue Squares

Here is the second quilt that Rosemary made that I quilted it with Baptist Fans.

I usually think of using Baptist fans on older quilts, the ones that have a vintage feel, but I love how it looks on these modern quilts and even batiks!

OK, I think I may be caught up with blog posts for a day or so. I have a bunch scheduled, so we'll see if it works.