Nothing much to show

I have been working on customer quilts so I don't have anything of my own to show.

I have been quilting 4 Charley Harper quilts for a woman from my old guild to give for Christmas presents. The last quilt is on the frame now. I've done all of them with the tree bark/tree knots design. There is something about the fabric that my machine doesn't care for and the quilting has been taking longer than I like.

I am also almost done with 3 t shirt quilts. A co-worker recommended me to a friend of hers for these quilts for her daughter and granddaughters with her husband's t shirts. I always find it interesting the shirts that people include for the quilts. These had such a wide variety of UK shirts with some Grandpa, Christmas and beer/drinking shirts thrown in.

I'm ready to get these all done and handed back to the owners so that I can start back on something for myself!

Time for a Comeback

The past year has been a very tough year for me and I have spent the last few weeks reflecting on it and the hopes I have for the new year that is just over a week away.

I lost my quilting mojo and I am not even sure that I can pinpoint when it left me. Some time in 2015, I think. Maybe earlier than that since most of my last blog posts were related to quilting for others.

One thing that I have been considering is a way to get back to quilting and working on my own projects. And I am ready! As soon as I catch up with the customer quilting I have...

Another thing that I have contemplated is the blogging. The blog used to be such a huge part of my life with documenting projects and progress and events and with corresponding with readers and fellow bloggers. But once I lost my quilting mojo, I figured the blog would be very boring with repeated "I didn't get anything done... again!" posts. I also need to find a good way of saving my pictures to the blog without them being in The Cloud*. 

One way that I am going to work on my quilting mojo is classes! Last weekend, I signed up for a Block of the Month at my local quilt shop using Deb Tucker Ruler/Tools and it starts in January. There will be companion quilt classes and I have signed up for the January class, as well. I am very excited to go through my fabrics and find ones to use for the BOM and to start picking for the January class as well. I haven't taken a class from a shop in years, but after meeting the teacher and seeing the first block, I can't wait to get started!

I already have plans for working on some UFOs and new projects (Christmas presents and yes, I am late! ugh!). I plan on getting everything in order in my sewing studio over the next week and making up some lists. Something concrete that I can reference while I work through everything.

And as usual, these mutts are just laying around and soaking up the sun while I do all the heavy lifting!

*Because I don't want all of my files saved to a web-o-sphere or whatever it is and I don't want to start paying a monthly fee to store my pics and then have the fee increased exponentially. I am coming to the conclusion that this will happen regardless, but I am still holding out hope that an easy and free way of sharing pics will happen.

Quilt #34 - Laura Beth's Brights

The next quilt I finished was this brights quilt for Laura Beth. I got another bright variegated King Tut thread for the top and used the Bountiful Feathers panto and just loved to see how it quilted out! The colors were all so vibrant and the feathers were perfect on this quilt!







See what I mean?

I used the bright green Bottom Line for the bobbin and it looked awesome on the polka dot backing!



And compared to the last quilt, the quilting was a breeze!

Quilt #33 - Laura Beth's purple and teal birds

I took the month of August off from quilting because work was getting so hectic and I had little energy once I got home.

When I started back to quilting, I worked on this quilt with the Baptist Swirl panto and had some tension issues. I got 5 rows quilted and just wasn't happy with how it was turning out so I took the machine in for service and started ripping out what had already been done.

I used a variegated King Tut thread in the top and a bright green Bottom Line in the bottom and I just wasn't having great results - lots of shredding and breaking of the top thread. So I doused it with Sewer's Aid. It's the first time I have had to use that on thread in the Avante, but once I did, the quilting went much smoother and I was able to get this quilt finished.





I have quilted other quilts since this one and I am happy to report that there are no more machine issues!

Quilt #32 - Jaclyn's hexie quilt

This is the first of three quilts that I quilted for Jaclyn this summer/fall. It is an antique quilt with hexagons and it was hand pieced. I quilted it with an off white So Fine in the top and silver Bottom Line in the bobbin and the Baptist Swirl panto.







There were a few stains and tears on the quilt, but Jaclyn knows how to fix them and is really going to enjoy this quilt!

Quilt #31 - Jennifer's pink baby

The next quilt that I quilted over the summer was this pink baby quilt for Jennifer. I used the Simplicity panto and a red and pink variegated King Tut thread.






I guess the quilting doesn't show up too well in the pictures I took.



But the thread matches nicely and Jennifer was able to gift the quilt to a co-worker for her new baby. :)

Quilt #30 - Laurel's Police quilt

In July, I quilted this quilt for Laurel. She gave it to her brother at his retirement party.



I quilted it with the Dazzle panto and white So Fine in the top.



 

Quilts #28 - 29 - Wilma's red, white and blue

Wilma brought me a large red, white and blue quilt with a couple of shams to quilt for her. I quilted everything with stars and swirl panto







And the shams. I loaded them right next to each other and quilted them all at once.





Everything turned out wonderfully and Wilma was very happy!

Quilt #27 - Christy's T shirt quilt

Early in the summer, it was the season of T-shirt quilts and I quilted quite a few. This one was for Christy who is in my Guild. Of course, I was a little lax in photographing some quilts right around this time. sigh....

I quilted a stipple with a medium gray So Fine in the top and gray Bottom Line in the bobbin.

Design Wall Monday - 7/7 - Quilt #28 - Snowflakes

I'm still catching up on the quilts I quilted during the month when I was blogging. :)

This quilt was quilted for Brenda and is the same pattern that I quilted last year for Jen in CT. Snowflakes!



I used a light tan Glide thread in the top and a matching Bottom Line in the bobbin. When I quilted Jen's, I remember having to fuss with the tension quite a bit, but I didn't have as many issues on Brenda's quilt. In spite of the panto, it was a breeze to quilt!









The quilting turned out well and the pattern is very lovely on the quilt.

Quilt #27 - Lynn's t shirt quilt

Last month, I finished this quilt for Lynn.



I like using a medium gray thread in the top because it blends well. I think I used a gray in the bobbin, too.

And this was my favorite shirt in the quilt.



I had to piece the backing for Lynn. A red and white chevron from JoAnn's. It was a nice fabric! JoAnn's has come a long way with their fabric in the last couple of years.

Quilt #26 - Star Fall

Back in May, I quilted this quilt for Brooke. It's Star Fall and it was gorgeous before my needle touched it!



I quilted it with the Star Dance panto and I used a silver Glide thread in the top and silver Bottom Line in the bobbin.



In person, the thread shimmers and shines!



Brooke is delighted with the quilting and that is all that matters! :)

Quilts #24 and #25 - Pam's t shirt quilts

Back in May, I quilted 2 t shirt quilts for Pam. I found that a medium gray So Fine in the top blends nicely with all the shirts.

The quilts were for twins - a boy and a girl.

The boy's quilt.



And one of the shirts that cracked me up.



And the girl shirt. There were a lot of Snoopy's on the quilt.



And he sure is cool!



'Tis the season for t shirt quilts!

Design Wall Monday - Gillian's Maple Leaf

Almost a month ago, I quilted this for Gillian.

I quilted the Nouveau Feathers pantograph and cream So fine in the top and a cream Bottom line in the bobbin.



This panto really gives the quilt some great movement for the quilt blocks.





And the best part is that Gillian loved it!

Quilt #22 - Cat Nap

I quilted this adorbs quilt for Kara. She assembled the quilt at the March retreat and I had been holding onto it since then, but I finally got it quilted early last week.

She requested the Bubbles panto and I used neutral threads on top and in the bobbin.







I think this turned out super cute and I can't wait for Kara to see it in person. :)

Quilt #21 - Red and Tan

At first glance, these blocks looked like Bear Paws to me, but I don't think they are now. This quilt was pieced perfectly and it was a joy to quilt! Most of them are. :)

I quilted with a new to me panto, Simplicity, and a tan So fine in the top and a goldish Bottom Line in the bobbin.



This is a lovely panto and it doesn't detract from the piecing at all.



Here's a better shot of the panto from the back of the quilt.