Farmhouse Quilt and Body Pillows

The start of Farmhouse Quilt No. 2--sewing 200 plus 4-patch blocks from fabrics I long forgot I had.  

Some fun fabrics of fruit loops, butterflies, checkerboard, Christmas tree lights, paisleys, polka dots, bug-eyed fish, lots of colorful small prints and ivory.  Cool beans when you sew them all together. 

If you like to draw, then you'll like long arm quilting.

Quilting is finished

Lifted up the bottom of the quilt to show you the backing with art panels

After removing the quilt from the frame, I take it to the layout/cutting table to trim and square.

I prepare 400" of binding and machine sew it around the perimeter.

Then I turn the binding and hand stitch with a blind stitch technique; one stitch forward, one back stitch, and every 6th stitch I make a simple knot.  4-5 hours to complete the quilt.

Result is stitches that cannot be seen, and stitches that will never come un-done.  

This is my favorite way to photograph a scrappy quilt--squished into a pile as if it were on a bed after a good night's rest.  The quilt measures 92 x 104, an ample queen.

Because I made too many 4-patch blocks, I decided to make quilted body pillow zippered covers.  They are 54" long by 20 inches wide.  

Thank you for looking at my work.

Come see me Memorial Weekend, May 25-26 Sat-Sun

Rising Star Mill Arts and Craft Show - 10a until 5p

Nelsonville, Wisconsin

Fabric covered journals

I've been sewing lots of padded fabric journal covers out of blue jeans and other printed cotton fabric.  Its been fun recycling pockets for function and decoration.  The journal covers will be offered for sale at some summer events.  I'll keep you posted of the dates, ok?

Each journal cover holds a 100 page lined composition tablet.

Sewing on the pocket

Hand embroidery work on each fabric journal cover

Also introducing this year is my new creation, a Traveler's pouch . . .

The Traveler's Pouch starts out as a long quilted pocket to store and hang up your curling iron, or fill it with your cosmetics and fold it up and put in your suitcase.  

Or,

 Fold up the Traveler's Pouch, secured with a button/loop closure to use as a mini purse with cross body strap.  Because this is a padded item, you can be confident your cell phone will be protected and easy to answer a call.

I'm making lots of the padded Traveler's Pouches in different fabrics.  All of them are quilted on my long arm machine prior to construction, then hand decorated.

Come visit me at

Rising Star Mill and Arts and Craft Show

Saturday and Sunday Memorial Weekend

May 25-26, 2019 - 10a until 5p

Nelsonville, WI

Personal Appearance Quilt

Personal Appearance Quilt is finished.

Here are lots of photos my long arm quilting adventure, working on Personal Appearance, a queen size quilt.

Such a colorful  quilt.  I added the electric blue fabrics to scare ya!

What a wonderful way to use lots and lots of colorful fabrics.

Four - 4-patch blocks (4" squares) joined with a variety of sashing fabrics and 

contrasting corner stones.

Edge to edge free style long arm quilting - I call my design "Feathers and a Swirl" .  The long arm design sequence is built upon a wide serpentine line, and back-tracked with feathers and big swirl to close areas where a little more space is left open.

This is an improvised quilt . . . I had no real idea how it would look in the end.

And isn't that what makes it all so much fun.

I must admit the colors photographed "brighter" than in real life.

I turned off the lights in the studio for a moment, and got a better color reading of the fabrics

Double sashing with corner stones.

Squares of course = a very square quilt, 

so I added an extra border top and bottom to accomplish a queen size quilt.

Just finished quilting first row.

When I install the binding, I move my machine to the layout/cutting table where I can spread out the quilt.  The large table surface supports the quilt well and makes installing the binding easy.

This is my 1992 Kenmore Sewing Machine (old faithful).  

Review of My 10 hour Day:

I cleaned and oiled the long arm machine, wound 10 bobbins, then loaded the quilt, changed needle, and threaded the machine.  Completed the quilting in 5 hours.

Removed the quilt from the frame.  Trimmed away the batting.  Prepped 400"+ of  binding.  Sewed binding to the quilt perimeter.

I rolled up the quilt and moved from the studio to the house.  Prepared dinner.  After dinner I sat in the big leather chair, and listened to TV while turning, pinning, and hand stitching the binding to finish.  It was a good day.

Thank you for looking at my work.

My first show in 2019 is Memorial Weekend Sat/Sun May 25-26

at Rising Star Mill in Nelsonville, WI - Arts and Craft Fair, always a big crowd.

Lots of vendors showing their beautiful hand crafted items for sale.

Story:  What a difference 6 weeks makes!  Remember April 15, 2018 with the big snow storm that dropped 20 inches of snow?  Six weeks later I was sitting under my tent at the Rising Star Mill Memorial Weekend Arts and Craft Show trying to catch a breeze (there was no breeze all day), and the temperature was 95 degrees F.   Mercy.

Biddies and Growd Ones Quilt

Calling this quilt "Biddies and Growd Ones" 

Saw this photo on the web . . . and thank you to the person who put it out there.  It made me smile.    When I saw it and had an ah-ha moment . . . a title for my next quilt.

From bits and pieces of scrap fabric (biddies)--growing some 12.5" square quilt blocks to build a queen size quilt.

Biddies and Growd Ones Quilt

42 blocks sewn, joined with a concrete gray cross sash and navy corner stone.  Two rows assembled, 5 rows to go.  Then I'll add a two strip border to finish piecing the top.  This quilt is being constructed with my very reliable 1990 Sears Kenmore.  

***

I'm sewing from the comfort of the red dining room during the month of January and February.   Its just too darn cold and icy walking from the house to the studio.  

The WIND CHILL: we had some brutal -50 F below last week.  Its the kind of weather that kills car batteries, and makes you stay home and make potato and ham soup, and we had some darn good chili too!

***

I keep carving up scraps to produce 2.5" wide bits, and some 4" squares when possible.  If you think this is my only bin of scrap fabric--you'd be wrong.  I'm not saying how many.  I'm just saying . . .

When I do summer shows--I bring along a turn of the century hand crank sewing machine--to demonstrate and get some work done while sitting.  

Here's one of my favorite hand cranks, a 1916 Singer Model 28 with "Victorian" decals

I stitch end to end random lengths of  2.5" wide fabric.  I sew and sew and sew until I have a palm size roll about 100" long.  I store the rolls of scrap fabrics in a basket.  From those rolls I make quilts and purses. 

***

I busted through a lot of scraps in January 2019.  Finished another quilt top called 

Personal Appearance from 4" squares.  What a great stashbuster quilt.  

Here are some photos of "Personal Appearance".  When the weather breaks, I'll go back to the studio and do the long arm quilting on it.

Thank you for looking at my work.  Leave me a message, and we'll discuss why we quilt and why there is no time left over to do anything else . . .