Machine Quilting: Green Vintage Quilt

Well, this quilt isn't vintage. But it is green. Bobette brought this to me and she loved the pattern, loved the fabrics, but once it was all together the light cream looked very yellow to her and she wasn't loving that part. She asked me to work my magic to make it look less yellow if I could.

 I had to come up with something special for those large open blocks and some curves and feathers did the trick.

 I matched the curves in the pieced blocks with some simple line dancing to fill the areas. It needed to work well with the other design, yet fit this space well too.

 The open blocks also created a secondary design I wasn't planning on. I honestly didn't even notice it until I was about half way through the quilting. If you look closely, the curved lines create a circle design around the pieced blocks.

 You can see it better here. It was a complete and happy accident.

 Add in a few more feathers for the outer border and this quilt was complete. It was amazing how even my Hubby saw it while I was working on it and thought it looked like a vintage top I was finishing off.

 It wasn't the intended end result, but it definitely made the yellow-y-ness diminish and fit the quilt. Depending on the lighting that background fabric could look really yellow at times.

I actually have a tutorial for you all on how I quilted the open blocks with only one start and stop. I figured out a way to quilt this design working smarter, not harder and I'd love to share it with you. Check back later this week for the step by step instructions to try it out yourself if given the chance!

Thanks, Bobette! I think we both can say mission accomplished!

Confessions: Random Thoughts on Thread and How to Make Your Quilter Love You

I should also add to that it's not only how to make your quilter love you, but how to avoid making your quilter cuss you out under their breath. But back to that in a minute.

I'm enjoying this little series and it seems you are too. Thank you again for the kind comments and emails. That's actually kinda how I got today's topic.

I actually got my other threads in that I ordered and updated my cubby. It's all pretty much the same, but I think I have a bit more of a well-rounded rainbow now. The new threads are the three the arrows are pointing to.

One of the questions or comments was what brand everyone was using. That was not why I wrote that post but I should note that what works in my machine may not work in yours. And what works in your machine may not work in mine. Threads are goofy like that. Seriously if you are having all sorts of issues with a project and it's a new thread you're trying, it may just be the thread.

I honestly found this thread, found I can use it for just about everything I need thread for (about 90% of what I do) and I quit looking. I'm sure there's other brands that would work and other colors to try, but this is what works for me and I like it simple. Don't fix what ain't broken. Plus you could spend a small fortune trying each and every thread available out there. It may not be the best solution, but it's what works for me.

So onto today's random thoughts on thread. These aren't anything hard or complex, but they're so simple they get overlooked and can drive long arm quilters insane.

The main reason we got on this topic was another quilter commenting about piecing threads. Specifically contrasting threads (her version was white thread with navy fabric). Please don't use super contrasting threads when piecing if you can help it. Sometimes you have to use what you have, like say in a scrappy quilt. You've got every color from white to black and everything in between - use what you can. My choice is a light tan/off white for most of my piecing.

But if you're piecing all dark fabrics together, use a gray or a brown or a darker thread. Granted your stitches aren't supposed to show from the front of the quilt, but it happens and it stands out when the thread doesn't match. It doesn't take much pull for threads to show sometimes.

Now, I'm guilty of this when I'm piecing bindings together or border pieces, but I'm usually on a tight deadline and don't honestly have the time to switch my threads every time. That's why I stick with a light tan. It works both ways. It's not too dark and not too light. It's like the Goldilocks of thread.

The alternate fiasco what happens if your threads are too dark (say black thread with white fabrics), it'll look like there is a pencil line or a chalk line (if you used a colored thread like red) that won't go away. This one shows up in the quilts I finish a lot and sadly it's just a seam or two on a really pretty intricate quilt that must've taken forever to piece and the only thing I can stare at is that unruly thread in the one seam. It's usually in a border or some really big area that makes it stand out even more.

Your safest colors to piece with are in the white to tan to gray tones. Keep it neutral and keep a small variety so you have what you need for anything that you may be working on.

What else drives us quilters absolutely batty? Bias edges and unlocked stitches. Your quilts are going to be handled a bunch during the piecing process and prior to quilting. They will get beat up whether you try to prevent it or not. The best thing you can do is lock the stitches especially at the ends of seams at the edges of the quilt. I honestly lock almost every seam that I can. It's just a good habit to get into (you never know what seam may end up at the edge of a quilt if there's no borders). How do you lock a seam, when you start and right before you stop each seam, take a couple reverse stitches and then keep on stitching. That's it.

Sometimes just being handled enough to be measured and then put on the quilt frame is enough for some edge seams to start to unravel and it's not pretty. If you can't lock stitches because your quilt will be trimmed down, like in paper piecing for example, keep reading and treat the edges like they are bias edges.

Also, your quilter will LOVE you if you have bias edges around your quilt and you "stay stitch" the edges. This is where you stitch about 1/8" from the edge of the quilt all the way around. It doesn't sound like much but it keeps the quilt from fraying and stretching out of square. It takes just a few extra minutes and the results will be worth it. Just keep the stitching inside the outer 1/4" so they don't show when you put on the binding. Bias is a four letter word for a reason. No joke.

And last but not least for my random thoughts on threads - please Please PLEASE DO NOT give your quilter a top with a hole in the seam. Don't hand it to me and say, "there's a hole in the top, it's okay I put a safety pin where it is and I'll fix it when I get it back." NEVER do this. It will almost send you quilter into a psychotic rage and yes it has happened to me more times than I care to admit. Outside I think (or I hope) I was smiling, but on the inside I could not think of enough four letter words in my brain. Just keeping it real here.

Here's what you may not know. My quilting machine can be going along all nice and dandy and it will inevitably find a hole whether you mention it or not. And if you don't mention it, I will find it the hard way after my machine will have stitched itself to your quilt. This is by far my worst nightmare that I have encountered. When the machine is stitched to the quilt, I have to take out the stitches without doing more damage to the quilt and try not to damage the machine. No machine = no quilting. Plus I have less room to work in and the machine is always in the way but I can't move it because it is literally stitched to the quilt. It can happen in just a few stitches and it can take half an hour to get it all undone. Or more. And it's a nightmare. Did I mention it only takes a few seconds usually to prevent this from happening? Please take the time to fix a hole if you know it's there.

I honestly know I have a picture of this somewhere and I will find it and share it soon. Or it'll happen again and I will take a picture then and show you what a nightmare it is. It's nasty and I don't like it at all. Plus it always makes me nervous that it'll screw up my machine and again, broken machine = no quilting.

So those are my random thoughts for the day. It's a bunch of little things but they all add up to big issues if not handled correctly for your quilter. If you have any questions, comment below and I will get back to you or you can always email me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com.

More quilt pictures are coming and come back next week for another confession. What will be next? Backings, loading quilts onto the machine, something you have a question about... We shall see!

Happy Birthday to me! (AND YOU!!!)

Thank you all who sent me quilts for the long arming sale! I am busy hibernating and working my magic over here, but still managed to get a sunburn somehow... Well, Maura (my baby), Rosie (the dog) and I go for a walk every morning so we get a little outdoor time, but I got fried at a local Tall Ships Festival this weekend. It was worth it.

Do you ever have one of those great ideas like getting a new computer that makes you think life will be so much easier - and then it's not??? Well, transferring the info from one computer to another was quite challenging because no matter what, not everything would switch each time and not the same info would transfer each time. So frustrating. Once we got that all established then I found out the two programs I use the most "aren't compatible" with the new operating system so I had to upgrade those too and I'm still trying to figure this new computer out.

So that's why there's no pictures in this post. I haven't gotten that far just yet. I'm working on it but quilting is more fun than sitting at a computer all day. You can't blame me there.

So what's this Happy Birthday stuff? Well, to keep the celebration going and as a thank you to all the awesome supporters that allow me to call this amazing thing I do everyday "my job", I wanted to share it with you.

Later this month is my birthday so to celebrate:

my entire online shop is 31% off for the rest of the month!

Just enter the code HAPPYBDAY at checkout for 31% off your entire purchase! That includes all books, patterns and magazines!

Head on over to the shop by clicking here and grab the sale while it lasts. You have to the end of the month to take advantage of this great deal!!!

Blue Stars

Suzanne brought me this quilt. It was one of those "I'm sick to death of looking at this quilt, please take it and make it pretty so I want to look at it again" type quilts. You know what it's like when you've been staring at and man-handling a large quilt that never seems to end? Well, Suzanne hit that wall and I was glad to take this quilt off her hands for a bit.

 This quilt has a funny story too. Suzanne's hubby has been asking for years for a blue quilt. She worked on this quilt for what seemed like forever and when she was done her hubby saw it and asked, "Oh, who is that for?" She's like, "You silly!". Guys, you gotta love them! Well, this quilt proved trickier than Suzanne was bargaining for. It was an online tutorial that seemed super easy and fun, but the pressing instructions weren't the greatest. Okay they were downright dreadful and when she started to piece together this monster of a quilt it just added to the headaches. She had to work on it in little bits until it was finished - hence another reason why she was sick to death of looking at it.

 Knowing the pressing issue, there were some bulky seams that needed tamed so we opted for a simple overall design where I could work in and around those areas without harm to quilt, quilt plan, and my machine (thank you!). Again, Suzanne lives super close to Lake Erie like I do so with all of the blues she chose the wave design to quilt this monster. It not only helped to soften all of the harsh lines and contrast in the quilt, but also tied in with the blue theme.

 It wasn't until I was taking this photo that I realized Suzanne had the blocks in diagonal rows matching the fabrics... One of those "too close to the quilt" type situations. You have to understand while I'm working on a quilt I can only focus on about 20" at a time. Large patterns like this are immune to my vision until the end most times.

But isn't it just dreamy? Didn't it turn out awesome? If my memory serves me correctly I think this was quilted with a light blue thread to balance between the white and various blues. The backing was a solid white so a light thread was the way to go. Even though some of the blue fabrics are very dark, even a light blue thread plays better than a white would have. The white on a dark blue would have been like a neon "look at me" sign strewn throughout the quilt.

Suzanne, you did it! I hope hubby loves his quilt and it's come in handy during this frigid winter.

Nancy's Chevron Quilt

Sometimes simple is good. When you do something so simple but so effortlessly, it's just magical. Like this quilt.

 Now you all know (or you should by now if you've been following my blog for awhile) that I LOVE scrappy quilts. Nancy just put together some scraps with no rhyme or reason and came up with this fun quilt. When she got the pieces done she faded the colors and it just made this quilt that much more spectacular! Don't you agree?

 Once she got the top done she was on a search to find more of this "wave" fabric for the border since it reminded her of the lake we live so close to. Luckily she was able to get it but it was a tight squeeze in order to get enough for all four sides, but she did it!

We chose to quilt this simply with all-over waves to play off of the lake theme. You could go crazy with quilting and make this one custom, but Nancy wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, so simple was best. Not every quilt needs custom quilting.

Thanks, Nancy! Your quilts are always fun to work on!

French Braid Quilt

Sharon also sent me this fun French Braid quilt to work my magic on. I have to tell you sometimes quilts come to me in waves - all big quilts, all baby quilts - usually matching the seasons. However last year I had never worked on so many purple quilts all in a row. I think I had six at the same time that were mostly purple. I think in the years I've been long arming I have only quilted six purple quilts until this year.

Okay, back to the quilt.

 Yes it's sideways, but that's how it was quilted and it was the only way I could get the whole quilt in the photo! French braid quilts are so interesting to me. They're all kinda the same but may have different personalities between the choice of colors, an accent piece or not, whether the colors fade, which direction they might fade, etc.

 We decided to keep this one simple-ish. I know it doesn't look like it in the photo, but I'll walk you through it. The dahlia worked well in the center square and the side setting triangles at the end of the strips. The braids were filled with large bubbles in various sizes leaving the cheddar accents alone so they stood out more. Then a double bubble chain filled the center sashing strip.

Last but not least, trying not to overwhelm the quilt with another "design", to tack down the border more for function and to leave the large leaf print to stand on it's own, straight lines were quilted into the borders. That way the fabric can still be the focus and the straight lines act more as a texture than another quilting design.

This was definitely a quilt that I probably put more thought into the plan than the time I actually put into the quilting. I just let this quilt sit out and speak to me for awhile and it helped to see the various fabrics in different light while planning. Sometimes the fabrics seem to change during the day or on a cloudy day versus a bright sunny day. Sometimes I see variations and details in different lighting that helps to plan the quilting. It really is a long thought process if you don't just pick a design out of a catalog and go to town.

Thank you, Sharon, for sending me your quilts! Your color choices were fantastic and I loved working on them!

If you're interesting in my quilting services, please e-mail me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com or check out the Machine Quilting Information page here on the blog. I'm not doing a bunch of quilting right now, but I hope to get back into it slowly after Easter or so (depends on when Little Miss arrives).

Have a great weekend! -Rebecca

String Leaves

Sharon contacted me and sent me this string quilt to finish off for her. She had a vision of leaves quilted into the design with a variegated thread. It took a little back and forth to come up with a plan that got us both on the same page - there are various leaves to choose from and finding a thread that had the right mix of colors in it was harder than anticipated.

 Sadly the pictures will never give the true perspective of colors in this quilt... Sometimes it just won't translate well, but this quilt was stunning in person. The mixture of hues were so vibrant and captivating.

 With such a mixture of colors and how the quilt fades from light to dark from the center out, it made choosing thread a little more challenging than usual. Plus since Sharon wanted a variegated thread, the hardest part was finding the right mix of thread colors. Some of the thread choices were almost perfect but faded into reds and burgundies that were a little too overpowering for this quilt.

 All in all I used three different threads on this quilt. The variegated thread was used in the leaves. A light blue was used to fill in the background and a teal was used for the back. The teal matched the backing so well and was the perfect "middle ground" between the colors in the variegated thread. Think of it as a happy medium.

 Here you can see a close up of the leaves and the differences in threads. This quilt was fun to work on and the mixture of colors and strips made every row like a new discovery as I worked along.

The quilting shows up so much more on the back of the quilt. And here's my little tip for you today - the biggest misconception in the quilting world is that your quilting will stand out more with bright crazy variegated threads... WRONG. Look at the two pictures above. Which one shows the quilting more? The top with all of the colors and various threads or the back where the thread was meant to blend into the fabric?

That's right, when the thread blends into the fabric, your quilting will actually stand out more. Take that in for a second. This is why many quilters will "skimp" (for lack of a better word) on visually busy areas in a quilt because you're not going to be able to see the quilting anyway - so why put in all that time and detail when it won't ever get noticed... And focus your attention on the plain(er) areas that will actually showcase the quilting more.

Does this surprise you? Does it go against your quilting instincts? Here's another way I look at it. Take a light quilt and quilt it with red thread. Your quilting will definitely stand out more but for all the wrong reasons. When anyone looks at that quilt they will see the thread first, quilting second and the quilt last. You want the attention to be quilt first, then the quilting and maybe if it's needed the thread. The thread choices you make should accent and amplify the feel of the quilt, not fight for attention. Does that make sense?

Alrighty, well I'm trying to plan a few more quilty picture posts for you all while I have some energy to sit at the computer. Still no Little Miss yet, but I will keep you posted! Have a great day! -Rebecca

Quick Curve Lanterns

If any of you have tried the Quick Curve Ruler patterns by the gals at Sew Kind of Wonderful, you know you're hooked before you can blink! I myself haven't sewn one of their patterns yet, but I plan on it in the future (along with about a dozen other quilts). Every one of my clients that has brought me a QCR quilt has raved about it and has already started another quilt or two. You really should check out these rulers and patterns!

Enough of that, back to the quilt at hand. This is the Urban Abacus pattern, but it looked to me like lanterns in the fabrics Anne (or her daughter-in-law) chose so that's how I planned the quilting.

 This quilt was so much fun to plan and execute. The curves are gradual enough that they allowed me to play without worry of bonus fabric or ripples or anything too harsh - visually or physically. I immediately thought of the collapsible paper lanterns when I saw this quilt so I ran with that idea first.

 To differentiate the lanterns from their "cords", I chose to quilt the cords in a ribbon candy design for added texture. Then came the hard part - planning the background. I pondered and stared at this quilt for a couple days before I came up with the idea you see quilted out above. That was because I was looking at it all wrong. I got the idea to quilt these curved bubbles when I looked at the quilt from the side rather than up and down. The pattern opportunity was so obvious to me I had to take a chance at it and I LOVE how it came out. I filled in the gaps along the sides just like the quilting in the lanterns to complete the design.

 You can see the trail of bubbles much better here. I love the texture in this quilt and how it's truly so simple yet looks complex. To finish off the border I quilted bubbles in various sizes.

 And here it is! Did I mention I LOVE this quilt?

And if it couldn't get any better, here's the view of the back. The movement and texture reduce me to a puddle of drool... Again, another quilt I was very reluctant to give back. But I had to. And I did. Even though I didn't want to. But it's part of the job, and I love my job...

Thank you, Anne! Once again I had a blast playing on your quilt and taking it to the next level. (Which isn't hard to do when you get awesome stuff like this to play on.)

Are you enjoying the peek at all of these quilts I worked on last year? There's plenty more to share so stay tuned and I will share them and much more as I can!

Lumina Feathered Star

Wanda contacted me about quilting her Lumina Feathered Star and I couldn't wait to get started. As many of you are aware (if you're familiar with Quiltworx patterns), Quiltworx offers computerized designs specific to many of their quilt patterns and they're amazing. But many, if not all of them, are super dense, super detailed designs. Wanda didn't want that much quilting, yet she didn't want to settle for just a plain pantograph over the entire quilt. So that's why she contacted me.

 Wanda was hoping for more of a semi-custom touch - my specialty! The fabrics for the Lumina Feathered Star are a ton of metallics and they are very busy. In several areas the quilting would only show up when the lighting is "just-so". So what's a quilter to do? We opt to keep those areas simplified and put the details in the areas you're actually going to notice it, like the center and that amazing satin in the border.

 Wanda requested swirls and just whatever would work to make the center pop and amplify the quilt as a whole. I thought of these fun circles in the spiked border and they worked out perfectly. In order to fit the curves, not every spike is the same size and shape, so circles are easy enough to adjust as needed so the border as a whole looks finished. Some designs may not be as forgiving and the small differences would stand out terribly.

 This quilt has ginormous pieces (for a Quiltworx pattern) so the center was played up and kept subtle at the same time. I kept the swirls in the satin and played with straight lines to emphasize the feathers where I could.

 The majority of the quilt was covered in swirls, and you can see some of the other details here in this shot. This quilt plan definitely fell into the less-is-more category. Swirls, circles and straight lines in a variety of uses are all that made up this large quilt.

I love how you can see the sheen from the satin in the spiked border here. I think that was my favorite part of this quilt. And in case you're wondering, Wanda knew satin wouldn't respond the same as a quilting cotton, so it all was backed in a super light interfacing to make it behave, yet it wasn't too bulky to interfere in the piecing or quilting process.

All in all this quilt was a stunner and I was sad to send it back home. However I know it went to a great place and is probably being loved on as I type! That's what makes my job a tad easier, knowing that the quilts I spend so much time on go to good homes where they are loved and used!

Thank you, Wanda! Your quilt was spectacular, your piecing was phenomenal and I had so much fun working on this quilt with you!

Block-Buster Quilts: I Love Log Cabins

It's time to share a brand new book with you that I'm super excited about! Today I'm going to share with you a new book by Martingale featuring 16 designers (myself included) called Block-Buster Quilts: I Love Log Cabins.

If you're new to the blog, welcome! If you're familiar with my ways, welcome back and please don't mind the life pauses here and there. I'm currently expecting our first child to arrive soon and we're trying to sell our house and move and yeah... Not much quilting happening at the moment. But today I have plenty to share so let's begin!

I have had a log cabin quilt on my quilting bucket list for a long long time. I finally made my first log cabin quilt a couple years ago - you can find Frolic in my second book, Seems Like Scrappy (it's on the cover) and from that moment I was hooked! 

I mean what's not to love? Choosing fabrics and getting prepped is so much fun and the construction goes together so smooth and swift - you have a quilt top before you know it. Not only that, but the color and layout options are endless allowing you to create and imagine and create some more until your heart is content!

As I mentioned, there are 16 quilts in this book - one from each designer. Oh, and before I forget - head on over to Martingale's blog and leave a comment to win! They're giving away 16 copies of this very book next week - one for each designer! Click here to head on over, just leave a comment and you're entered!

Daybreak by Rebecca Silbaugh (that's me!)

The neat thing with compilation books, like this one, is until the book is released or the marketing materials start to arrive, as a designer we usually only know about the quilt we made and/or the quilts our close friends have made too if we chat about that sort of thing. You never know what to expect. 

The quilt above is Daybreak by me! I am in love with wonky blocks and came up with this fun layout to try. This type of layout does give a directional look to the quilt overall, but it has so much dimension that I really want to try it in other color options soon. Maybe. Depending on when Little Miss arrives and how much energy I'll have left. 

If anyone knows me - I usually am not a fan of yellow. However there are exceptions to every rule and one being my sewing room is painted yellow. Knowing this book would be released in the typically most mundane time of year for me (I live in the snow belt in NE Ohio, usually by now the landscape has been several shades of grey for months) I wanted to choose lively colors that would remind me of Spring. And sun. And warmer temperatures. And yeah. That's why I chose these colors. 

I would love to see what colors or fabric lines you would choose to make this quilt out of. You know what - leave me a comment below with what color or fabric scheme you'd make Daybreak out of and I'll choose a winner later this week to receive a copy of I Love Log Cabins! 

Scrappy Courthouse Steps by Lissa Alexander

Well, to be honest I got my books in the mail last week and haven't had a chance to open them until today (we're trying to sell our house so my office and sewing room can't be the usual clutter storm I'm so used to living in - hey, I'm creative and it works). So I opened my books and started to scroll through the pages and had to keep the drool at bay. There are so many beautiful quilts in this book bursting with personality that I want to tear into my stash and make almost all of them. But I can't because I have to keep it clean and tidy... But the second we sell this place and move it's game on! Quilting season will be open as long as Little Miss and I have come to an understanding. I'm hoping the sound of the sewing machines will lull her to sleep. 

Anywho, the first quilt I stumbled across that I want to make is this amazing Scrappy Courthouse Steps by Lissa Alexander. It's simple and fun and fresh but timeless. I see this as a quilt for Little Miss and I to cuddle under in the future and watch movies. 

Mi Casa by Carrie Nelson

And then I flipped a few more pages and saw this dream of a quilt that I NEED TO MAKE!!! Carrie is known for her eye for color and texture and this quilt is the perfect opportunity to play with both of those things. It's another simple yet fresh concept that allows for maximum scrappiness. And you all know how I love scrappy!

 Seeing Stars by Kimberly Jolly

And what's not to love about a log cabin block with a star in it set in stars? Kimberly did an awesome job with this quilt and I love it. Okay I love them all, but for different reasons. This particular design could work so well for just about anyone by changing the colors and the textures. It could be masculine or patriotic or feminine or whimsical. I'm not sure which fabrics I would choose to make this one in, but the possibilities are endless!

 Log Cabin Chevron by Penny Barnes

And finally this quilt just blew me away when I looked at it. I'm a traditionalist at heart and this is honestly a very traditional block. It's just a modern color palette and layout to take this quilt to the next level. When I see this quilt, immediately I want someone to make it and send it to me to quilt it.  This type of design gets the long-armer in me buzzing and my brain is working overdrive to figure out how I would quilt it. I mean really - how much fun is this - AND it's a log cabin that doesn't look like a log cabin. BONUS!

So what do you think about this new book? Are you in love with log cabins like the designers in this book? Are you a hooked quilter on the road to log cabin recovery or a newbie to the log cabin fever? I'd love to hear what you think!

Don't forget to leave me a comment below to enter for a chance to win a copy of this book - I will probably choose a winner this weekend - and don't forget to head over to enter for another chance to win at Martingale's blog too!

If you're too impatient and you want to get your hands on this book NOW, you're in luck. You can look at your LQS, they should have copies in stock now, or you can purchase a copy from Martingale. The great thing about buying a copy directly from Martingale is you know the actual book will be arriving and be in your hands soon, but you also get an ebook download immediately after your purchase so you can scroll and start to plan your next project right away. Without the wait. How awesome is that?!

Well, that's a bunch of log cabin love to share with you today. Good luck and I can't wait to hear what you think about this latest book.

Colorful Gravity

Nicole also brought me this amazing Gravity quilt (pattern by Jaybird Quilts) to work on. Once again, I thought the pattern was much smaller before I saw the quilt in person. This one is even bigger than the Swoon I showed yesterday!

 I was so excited to work on this quilt - I'm a color freak and the more the merrier! However this quilt proved to be trickier than I anticipated to plan.

One - with all of those colors it was harder to choose the right thread(s). We ended up choosing a medium gray for the entire quilt because it's a neutral and would work with all of the colors, but it's not too light or too dark for any one area. Granted it'll stand out a bit more on this color or that one, but you generally look at the quilt as a whole, not piece by piece.

Two - the size and the angles made it challenging to work through the quilt and advance. These pieces are massive and the pieced diamonds were large enough that depending on the angle it was pieced into the quilt, it may not have all fit within the throat of the quilting machine at one time. So what does that mean? Some blocks I could quilt all at once, some I would have to plan the quilting so I could split the block and quilt half, then advance the quilt and finish the other half of the block.

I had a ton of doodles and notes to keep myself organized and on task for this project!

 I had to take notes because there are two of every block and I wanted to keep the quilting the same in both. The matching blocks are on opposite sides of this "star" so I may not be able to see the first block once I got around to quilting the second - hence why notes were important.

 For the designs, we kept it simple between straight lines in diamonds and triangles, curved lines in a variety of formations and I think that about covers it. It's amazing when you keep the basic parts as simple as possible but change the delivery how it can look so detailed and complex, but I promise you it's not.

 And then to keep the focus on the center (and how could you not with all of those colors?) we kept the quilting as simple as we could in the background with straight lines in alternating directions. By alternating the direction it gives depth and interest to an otherwise plain area, but doesn't take away from the rest of the quilt.

 I had to plan and draw out the line idea for the background ahead of time to make sure with all of the lines and angles it would work out right and luckily it did! Phew! Crisis averted!

I mean seriously... how perfect is this photo? My own thread color coordinated and a nice little backdrop to this colorful quilt... It was a match made in heaven. Which is ironic because we only used gray thread on this quilt, but I digress...

I had a blast working on this quilt and it was a great creative challenge for me. Quilts like this - quilts without squares and rectangles and more colors than a box of crayons - make my brain work so much more than some others and it keeps me on my toes. And that's a good thing!

Sometimes too much of the same old same old gets us quilters in a design rut too. We like a little variety and a change of pace. Sometimes it gives us heart palpitations before we can calm down and think rationally, but that's a whole other story... For a whole other day...

Thank you Nicole for bringing me fun quilts to play with! Both of these quilts were loads of fun and I was so happy to get to put my little spin on them.

Oh and you really can't see it, but I loved this quilt as much for the backing as I did the front. Nicole found this awesome wide back that was white type on black - and the words were all colors. Saffron, magenta, orchid, cinnamon, greige, sunflower, etc. It was the perfect backing for this quilt because even though it was black and white, it was color related! How cool is that?!

Anywho, Nicole, if you ever find yourself tired of this quilt and it just needs to find a new home... Call me. You know the number. Just saying.

The hardest part of this job is pouring your heart and soul into these projects and then sending them back to where they came from. It's the great part of my job too - I love being able to give my all with each quilt... But that's also the part that breaks my heart. I don't want to give them back! I want to hoard them all and have a different quilt to love each and every day. But I give them back. All of them. I promise. As much as I don't want to at times, seeing your faces light up when you come pick them up or getting phone calls and emails when your quilt arrives at your door makes my day. Sometimes my week or my month. That's why I continue to do what I do and I promise I will still be doing this after Little Miss arrives. It may be a bit harder at first to get back in the groove, but I have high hopes. Especially if/when we move and I can work in between naps and after bedtime. That's the plan at least... Wish me luck.

Speaking of which I have to get out to the machine and quilt a bit today. If I sit here in my pjs any longer it's not going to happen... Until next time!

Swoon-worthy

Nicole made this Swoon quilt (pattern by Thimbleblossoms) and I was surprised by the size of it when it arrived! For whatever reason, I thought it was much smaller - more like a lap size quilt. Well, it's not. It's big.

 Nicole asked that the quilting was kept simple on this one and she wanted something curvy but not a swirl because that's what she's normally drawn to. We had another idea at first (I honestly don't remember what it was) but then the more I stared at the quilt and thought about it a large clamshell seemed to be the perfect fit.

 The only deciding factor then was choosing what side would be the top of the quilt since the quilting is directional.

I think the quilting adds to the softness of this quilt but doesn't take away from the visual aspect at all. And who would want it to with big bright blocks like these? This is just a little reminder that sometimes simple is best. Somedays I think that's more of a reminder for myself than my clients :)