Buggy Barn - Hearts

Yes, I have been quilting, but I haven't been able to post because many are Christmas presents that I have no control over!  This is one that I made, and will be given on Christmas - just how fast CAN I finish that binding! 

The pattern is from the Buggy Barn Book, Crazy Fun-N-Games.  You need 20" squares, so forget those fat quarters for this quilt, unless you use the copier and reduce the size of the block - hmmm there's a thought!  Anyway, I bought 5/8 yard of each of the 32 fabrics, and I have enough to make two of these quilts.   This was the first time I used bamboo batting for anything other than a quick sample.  It sews up beautifully, but I did have some tension issues - I spent about 14 hours total ripping out stitches when they went gunny-bags.  (see all those little pieces of fabric on the outside of the quilt - that's for testing tension - UGG!)   It didn't take me that long to make the top! I now have tension on bamboo down to an ART!!

The back is a wide back from SewBatik.com.  Check them out, and if you order, put LAP 1250 in the special instructions so they know how you found them.  Top threads are King Tut and bobbin threads were Bottom Line, both from Superior Thread.  In fact, it was pieced using Masterpiece thread, also from Superior.  Love that stuff!!

It'll be somewhat quiet here in January, tax season for me, but I do have a Wedding quilt that has to be done by mid-January.  Better make a phone call - is that quilt top done yet???  That gives the rest of you time to get your tops ready for me to quilt in February!


Have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year.

Kim's Christmas Cactus Quilt

Kim found me online, and this is our first quilt together.  She made the top for someone in Arizona - perfect choice for a Christmas quilt!  According to Kim, the fabric is from JoAnn's.  Too CUTE!!!

Quilter's Dream Wool batting, SoFine thread in the top, Bottom Line in the bottom.  Pantograph is called Cactus and Coyote.

2010 Library Raffle Quilt

This quilt is the raffle quilt to raise funds to help our local library.  Last year we cut it pretty close.  This year we're about 6 months ahead of the game.  It will be raffled in May at Wild Goose Bill Days in Wilbur, WA.

We used Quilter's Dream Puff batting, Sew Fine thread on top and Bottom Line for the bottom.  Both threads are from Superior Threads.  The pantograph is called Primrose Swirls.

A Walk in the Woods

I had all my customer quilts done when I left for retreat, so I finally had a chance when I got back to actually put one of mine on the machine.   This has been a work in process for about two years, a graduation gift for my son, Karl.   He's currently living in an apartment with 3 other guys, while he goes to college.  The quilt will stay home for a while! 

As always, click on the pictures for a closer look.

Six days at Quilt Retreat - LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

I left last Tuesday for Lutherhaven on Lake Coeur 'd Alene for retreat with the Basin Piecemakers.  The lake is beautiful this time of year.

We had lots of fun, quilt making, bingo and food (check out the table under the clock...it was still pretty full, as was the refrigerator, on Friday when the retreat center started to feed us).  None of these projects are mine, these are just a sampling of the work (?) that went on.

There was the retreat project - Cupcake pincushions

And the retreat raffle quilt, while still in process.  The winner of the raffle has to finish the quilt by the next retreat, and come up with the plan for the next retreat quilt raffle.  Mabel was the lucky winner! 

On Friday, the center started to feed us, here's the walk to the Dining Hall. 

And some of the girls stayed up until 1:30 Sunday morning finishing the puzzle.

This is the view from my seat.  Now, tell me....how can quilting life get any better than this?!? 

 

Time to catch up!!

Now that the birthday girl has her birthday quilt, I can now show the front! I can also show the quilts from the fair, since it was also there, and it had the 'Superintendent's Award' on it!!!

Mary made this quilt for Jeanette's birthday (it was a big birthday).




This little quilt was made by Shirley. Her daughter Lisa quilted the matching pink quilt.





These are a couple of little doll quilts that 10 year old Kayla made, her first piecing of a quilt top. She quilted one, I quilted the other, both using a pantograph.



This quilt is my entry in the INMQ (Inland Northwest Machine Quilter's) 2009 Challenge. We all used the same fabric and pattern, and 'quilt as desired'. The winning quilt will be on the cover of the 2010 INMQ Quilters for Hire brochure. This was NOT the winning entry, by a long shot! I'm still very happy with how this turned out. BTW....the winning entry was spectacular! All will be shown at the 2009 WSQ (Washington State Quilters) Show in Spokane, WA in October. I'll try to get pictures of all of the entries then.

Harvest is DONE!!!!

All the kids with driver's licenses are back in either college or school, so guess who gets drafted to drive truck?? I took in the last two loads of wheat to the elevator. Chicken dance of happiness, anyone??

2009 Buggy Barn Quilt Show Pictures

Here's some eye candy's from this weekend's show. I always wish I'd taken more pictures! They are in the back-asswards order, but I'm just too darn tired to move them! Enjoy!

I have been busy!

Let's see, since the beginning of July....

A very large quilt for a birthday present. All you get is the back (for now).



A charity quilt.

Translation: I wanted to play with the baptist fan boards.



Worked with Kayla to quilt a charity quilt (someone else pieced the top). She's also working on doll quilts to go with the charity quilts, she's piecing and quilting those.












This is Kirsten's quilt. Fun, fun, fun to do - and you just can't go wrong with a blue and white quilt. Kirsten lives on the other side of Washington - you know - where there is WATER!!

We did lots of back and forth with drawings and lots of e-mails to come up with the final design. She mailed her top to me, ordered the back from SewBatik.com and had it delivered straight to me. When done, I shipped it back to her (on Friday) and she had it by Monday.






This quilt was pieced by Kay. We went with a pantograph on this one - Snapdragons. I think this is going to be one of my favorite pantos. Great texture, and really complimented the floral feel of this quilt. This quilt is a great example of when a panto is a perfect choice. Any custom work would have been lost in the fabrics.







Daughter Leslie came up with this fix for the A-1 laser light. Without the box, the quilt sometimes moved the wire, causing weak spots and eventual breaks. Leslie fixed my laser light, then built the box. She's leaving for UAA in Anchorage in a couple of weeks, so I've been learning how to make these. I have no idea how she figured it out. I thought it'd be an easy 'drill here' kind of thing. Nope! Drill, shave, fit. I've got it now! Now I want a drill press to fit the drill to make this even easier and prettier. They really are, at this point, just about function.

The first picture shows the laser box upside down so you can see how the laser shows through.

The second shows the laser box in it's correct position. Notice that the bend in the wire is now protected and comes out the right hand side where it's not subject to our normal wear and tear.

I plan to take some boxes with me to Innovations in Tacoma in September. E-mail me if you want more info.