On the Frame

Winter quilt ... 94 inches square

 
I'm really excited about this quilt.  A new quilter brought it to me after taking a beginner class.  She did such a terrific job making the blocks and keeping everything square.  As we talked about her quilt, the quilting threads (King Tut caravan), the batting, etc  ... she mentioned that she loved the studio because she enjoys watching birds.  She was standing in my favorite spot, where one can see the two feeders which are close to the house - one through a kitchen window and one near the corner of the studio.  Both feeders were active with chickadees and tufted titmice.

It seemed that birds would be perfect for her quilt.  I sketched out a few ideas and sent them to her via email and we both loved the same design.

Bird motif is still visible with the chalk pounce

The bird was drawn on freezer paper and the center was cut out.  Then the freezer paper was lightly ironed to the fabric to make it stick.  Chalk was pounced so I could trace the edges of the bird.  Another light touch of the iron and the chalk is gone. 

Loose scrolls around the frames of the stars

I'm learning a lot from this quilt.  To start, I used a ruler to stitch-in-the-ditch around each star.  That will make each star puff and define it better, even though the stitches aren't real visible.  I like the effect and think this customer will also.  It also helped me to keep the quilting detail more loose, but still keep the quilting within the 3.5 inches required for Hobbs 80/20 heirloom batting.

However, I didn't realize when I started just how time consuming it would be for me to SID around the 16 stars and the inner/outer borders.  Yikes!  I'll either have to get much faster or not do this on customer quilts.  A day and a half later, I was able to roll the quilt back to the starting section and start working on the blocks and scrolls.  Now I can see why allover designs are so popular!

No complaints though.  As I stated, I'm learning as I start this business.  It's really a fun journey and as long as the customer is pleased with her quilt, I'll be thrilled.

Today, I'm loading up my bags and taking a little road trip, heading south to Magnolia Park retreat.  It will be my first quilting retreat.  About 25 quilters will meet, talk, eat lots of goodies and work on whatever projects we hope to get competed.  Most of these ladies are cyber friends whom I haven't met face to face yet.  I'm excited to get to know them better and to put a face with a name.

However, one of these ladies, Thearica, quilted a top I made for a wounded soldier.  It was an incredible quilt, not because of the piecing, but because of her amazing quilting.  She put the words to the Lee Greenwood song, I'm proud to be an American ... in the borders.  Each LeMoyne star was quilted with a spiraling firework popping.  The overall effect was incredible.  As I presented the quilt to a young soldier, he had tears in his eyes, overwhelmed by the gift.  He couldn't wait to show his bride because he knew she'd love it too.  Thearica and her husband dropped off the quilt on a trip to see family.  She's about 10 hours away by car.  You can find her blog and the wounded soldier quilt at Pigtales and Quilts

Well, I'm off to finish packing and put more air in the tires.

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars