A Quilting Storm

Spring Floral Quilt - Feb 2015

(featuring Anita's Arrowhead Block)

Queen Size: 90 x 104

Fabric: Magical Garden Collection by M'Liss 

Here's a photo review of my winter work--5 queen size bed quilts I created the last four months and the 6th one ready to long arm quilt.

Back View of Spring Floral Quilt with decorative panel

I love to make queen size bed quilts--90" x 104" finished is ideal.  

About 17 yards of fabric, two large spools of thread.  

The process of loading the backing first, then the 

Warm and Natural 100% cotton batting, and the quilt top. 

Preparation to Quilt

 It takes an hour to clean the studio floor, clean the machine, and clean the wheels and rails, install new needle, wind 10-12 bobbins, thread the machine, oil bobbin race, adjust tension.  

Squaring fabrics--quilt top, batting, and backing is another hour long job prior to loading.  

My free style edge to edge long arm quilting designs take me 2 half days to do a queen size quilt.  

This is my design called Feather Bouquet.  A couple of evenings before I do the free style quilting I practice the design on my white board for hours to develop confident and free flowing muscle memory.  From that point forward--free motion quilting is a piece of cake.  I just grab the machine handles and start drawing.  It is relaxing and I travel to a zone where every other concern fades.

Feather Bouquet (free motion quilting)

I always add a pieced panel to the backing fabric to add interest.

Anita Goodman Solomon's Arrow Head Block.

Then next quilt I made was a simple framed nine patch block in Earth tones of coal, sand, gray sky, and ivory.  

Earth Tones - Framed Nine Patch - Feb/Mar 2015

My edge to edge design, Feather Bouquet

Finishing long arm quilting--and rolling it off of the frame.

Next steps: trim batting, square quilt, prepare 400 inches of binding, sewing on binding, turn binding and hand stitch.

Weird backing fabric with the barcodes, etc.  But I love it.

I'll have to look up all the fabric names and share details later.

Detail of free style Feather Bouquet design

Scrappy Corner Stone Quilt - March 2015

I pieced the backing and it really adds a lot of interest to the quilt.  

Corner Stones of turquoise and orange and navy print sashing pull these rail fence blocks together.

Feather Bouquet (edge to edge design)

I played with a wonky star block, and liked it, so I made 8 blocks.  They sat in my UFO pile for a while waiting for a scrappy quilt project.  I used the 8 blocks randomly to break up the routine of this quilt.

You may have noticed, I take lots of photos of my quilts from every angle.  Sometimes I can't decide which photos I like best, so I used them all.

Finished long arm quilting, rolling it off the frame.

December was the Scrappy Quilt 2, and January was the Blue Jeans Quilt, and you can review those  on my older posts.

Here's a peek at the Orange Applique Quilt when I started it.  I confess, I've never done hand applique work before, but I find it fascinating.  I would say I'm doing a good job for my first try at hand applique.  Surprise--they'll be bead work on it too!  

I have to piece the backing with a panel of left over orange quilt blocks, then I can load it on the frame for long arm quilting.  I'll share photos when its done.