Category: freehand quilting

Blended family · family · freehand quilting · longarm quilting · quilting · quilts · Wedding · Widow

I Have a Finish!

Wild Rose QuilterLeave a comment

Oh it feels so good! I finished Baby C’s quilt tonight. I can’t wait to get it washed and take it to him. ❤️


I love the 10 Minute Block pattern and tutorial. Such a fun, fast and easy pattern. 

I have so many WIP’s waiting in line to be finished, but first, I must start a new quilt! Because somewhere near the end of October, there will be another sweet baby boy for this Mammy to love! I’ve been looking over patterns the past couple of days, trying to settle on one. It definitely needs to be another fast and easy! 

The wedding, by the way, was just lovely. My new husband and I sat on the front row with my step-daughter and her husband and the other two sets of grandparents, with one chair  left empty for the grandfather that was there in spirit and in hearts. It was sweet. It was beautiful. It was perfect. 💙

freehand quilting · longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilting

Successful Sunday Funday

Wild Rose Quilter1 Comment

In between the worship time, cooking, and the eating, and the cleaning, and the shopping, and the tending to elderly parents, and the sorting, washing, folding and putting away of the laundry…I did some stitching today! Slow and fast! I made some good progress on hand stitching the King size binding, and I did a little longarm quilting! What a blessed Sunday at Casa de Ortega. ❤️

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freehand quilting · longarm quilting · quilting

Finished a Cute One

Wild Rose Quilter19 Comments

I finished this cute baby quilt, for a new client.  She made the top, I did the quilting. I call this light custom, as there is no SID, and everything is freehand, no marking required.

I enjoyed working on it.

I took my Mom for her PET scan, bone marrow biopsy, and first round of chemo last week.  The PET scan was Tuesday, and we went wig shopping before, as she will lose her hair from the chemo.  We made a fun day of it.  Friday, they told us the scan was clear, except for the tumor on the back of her tongue.  It has grown to the extent that it is choking her some.  Really causing her problems eating.  That breaks my heart.  Anyway, we don’t have the marrow results yet, but I expect them any day.  If it has not spread to the marrow, then it is stage 1.  He said the chemo should start shrinking it as early as a week.  I pray it does.  The final diagnosis is Blastoid Mantle Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which is an even more aggressive form that regular Mantle Cell.  So, he also wants to do a marrow transplant, using her own marrow, after she finishes her chemo rounds.  There should be six of those, once every three weeks, if she handles them well, and the cancer responds like we hope.  She has done very well with round one, so far.  I appreciate all the prayers and emails and messages from all of you.  Your concern has meant a lot to me.  I know several of you are going through, or have gone through, similar circumstances.

This Saturday, my “baby” boy will graduate from high school.  Soon, he will be off to college.  Lots of changes in my life this year.  Changes at home, changes at work, lots and lots of change.  I sure don’t have time to be bored…lol.  Maybe I will find time to work on some of my own stash projects in there somewhere…soon.

embroidery · fabric · feather quilting · freehand quilting · longarm quilting · machine quilting · pretty fabric · quilt top · quilting · quilts · stash busting

Stash & Quilting Report

Wild Rose Quilter11 Comments

  • Incoming Yardage to date: 75 yds.
  • Outgoing Yardage to date:  56.25 yds.
  • Total Stash Busted to date: -18.75 yds.
Ok, so my time in the positive was short lived.  But I love my new batiks! (see previous post for the full disclosure with photos you will drool over) So, I’m not feeling too bad about it.  Ok, not bad at all.   I don’t think I will, either, as long as there is movement going through my stash.  Some in, some out…just not all in, in, in.
During my lunch hours, or while I’m cooking something for dinner, and I’m waiting, I’ve been sitting down at the sewing machine and working on the pieced borders for my Boston Commons.
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I also got labels made for my friend’s comfort quilt.  I haven’t finished trimming the jump threads, so just ignore them. It took me right at an hour to get the first one all programmed into the machine.  The stitchout was 74 minutes, and that did not include the time it took me to change thread colors.  I thought I was never going to get done with it.  I started on it after work one evening, so I was already tired, but it was worth it.  I also made a small label to go beside it, just stating that I made the quilt.  Couldn’t fit it on the other label.  A more experienced embroiderer might have been able to, but this was the best I could do.  I don’t have any embroidery software yet, so I have to sit at the machine and program each letter in one by one, and it will only let me put so many characters on a line.  So the machine stops after each line of stitching, and even if I’m not changing colors, I have to be close by to restart the machine.  I hate to invest a bunch of money in embroidery software that I’m not sure I will use that much.  There is a lot about the embroidery that still confuses me.  I may address some of that in a future post.  Maybe some of you embroidery gurus can clear up a question or two for me.
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I started working on Joanna’s quilt a couple of days ago, but until today, I didn’t have anything to show for my efforts, except SID (stitch in the ditch).  I’m sure she is anxious to see how it’s coming, so if you can stand a dose of cuteness, I’ll show you a peek!
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Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and have a great week, y’all!
freehand quilting · longarm quilting · quilt top · quilting · quilts

Sewing, sewing sewing!

Wild Rose Quilter10 Comments

It may go into remission occasionally, but that Quilting Fever always comes back!  Gracie’s Star is now a flimsy!  I have to pick out my backing fabric and an allover quilting pattern for it.  I’m going to use Quilter’s Dream deluxe cotton batting.  It will be cozy!

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And I quilted this cute pumpkin table topper for my friend, Betty.  If you are reading, I hope you like it, Betty Lou!  I will bring it to you Tuesday, unless you want to swing by and get it sooner.

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Trying to decide which project I want to work on next, while I’m on such a good roll!

feather quilting · freehand quilting · longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilt top · quilting · quilts · stencil quilting

Wednesday WIP, 5-27-09

Wild Rose Quilter14 Comments

More 9P & stripe…26.5 hours into it…y’all are going to get tired of seeing this one.

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I’m not sure I am making all the right design choices…but, this is a learning project for me.  A project to expand my skills and challenge myself, so I’m ok with that.  For example, I’m not sure the large size setting triangle feather is working that well, but even so, I’ll probably just go forward with it.  I’m having fun!

That scroll-y design is a Karen McTavish stencil.  The setting blocks are stencils, as well, but I forgot to see who from.  I’ll get that later, for anyone interested.  I’m at work now, but remembered that I forgot to mention that.

feather quilting · freehand quilting · longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilt top · quilting · quilts · stencil quilting

Quilting Feathers, Feathers, & More Feathers

Wild Rose Quilter17 Comments

First, I cannot let Memorial Day go by without stating my thanks and appreciation for all the brave men and women that have served, or do serve in the armed forces, to afford the rest of us the wonderful freedom that we enjoy.  So many sacrifices they have made, many the ultimate sacrifice.  And thank you to their families.  Though saying thank you  doesn’t seem enough.

With the crosshatching behind me, I got to start quilting feathers today.  I love feathers.  Love quilting them, love the way they look.  I did not want to crosshatch the striped border, even though that would have matched the stripes in the interior.  Instead, I chose this pretty stencil by Barbara Chainey.  I’m liking it.

First, is the chalking.

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Then the stitching begins.

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Three hours later, one border done.  (it didn’t feel like it took that long)

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Much more fun that crosshatching.  So, I guess I have about 9 hours left to finish the other three of these borders.  This one is going to be on the machine for awhile yet.  I have a plan for that little inner border that matches the setting triangles.  I have a plan for the setting triangles.  I have not yet decided on the very outside border…maybe swags.  Maybe not.  Maybe more feathers.

I took time out this morning to relocate this litte guy from the back patio, to the front flower bed, so he would be safe from Tuffy and Libby. I took the top off of Tuffy’s feeder to catch him with.  The lizard was not happy about it…if he only knew, it really was for his own good.  Tuffy would have caught him and eaten him, eventually.  Libby would have just killed him.  I like lizards.

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Now he lives here.  Plenty of cover and should find lots of bugs to eat.

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freehand quilting · longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilting

Wednesday WIP, 2-25-09

Wild Rose Quilter13 Comments

Still working on Spiderman.  What I thought was going to be “light custom” is taking me much longer than I expected.  This is part of the longarm learning curve I am still trying to get around, determining what quilting goes in which pricing level.  This one is much more time consuming than I had envisioned it.  But live and learn.  I find these kind of quilts quite challenging to begin with, and I just hope my customer likes how I have decided to quilt it.  I am quilting word related to Spiderman, and the child’s name in the outer borders, along with some spiders, and then just an angular meander around that.

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I am putting four spider webs, in the four corners of the inner borders, treating them as one, then doing the same angular meander in between the webs.  For the very inner blue border, I just did a good old puzzle meander in the red thread.

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I decided to do a bit of outlining on Spiderman, and will quilt on the webs behind him, in the center panel.  I still have some outlining to finish, and I think I will connect the spiders with a wave black line.

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Yeah…”light” custom….well, I’ll know better next time…lol.  If it has Dorothy and her little dog on it, or cartoon characters, etc., unless doing a pantograph allover, it’s full custom. 🙂

embroidery · freehand quilting · longarm quilting · machine quilting · stash busting

Sunday Stash Report, 2-1-09

Wild Rose Quilter5 Comments

I used 1/4 yard up making labels this week, and 1/4 yard making guild name tags for myself and my friend.  So my official “out” for this week is only 1/2 yard.  However, I am plugging away on stash quilts I have going, and soon should have some big numbers to post.

YTD totals:

  • Incoming Yardage to date: 0 yds.
  • Outgoing Yardage to date:  17.75 yds.
  • Total Stash Busted to date: 17.75 yds.

I have border and backing fabric for the 2nd of my 9P & stripe tops, in the dryer as I type.  I pulled this  yummy Robyn Pandolph flannel from my stash, for the backing. My current plan is that this will be the next quilt of my own to land on the longarm.

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I’ve been sewing on my Boston Commons top, during my lunch hours, and have all the end triangles sewn to the 72 strips.  I have started sewing them into the big rows.  I am surprised at how quickly this is actually going together. Please ignore that I haven’t pressed the seams yet.  That is why it looks wonky.  It isn’t really.
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I also got the memorial t-shirt quilt quilted.  Here is a snippet of the freehand quilting on the back.  I will post a pic of the whole quilt after I get it completely finished.
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I have to say that t-shirt quilting is not my most favorite.  I feel like my machine is moving through sludge when I hit the shirt areas, and I had some thread breaking issues. That said, the quilt came out nice, and I know the family will love it.
My friend Betty and I needed name tags to wear to our guild meetings.  I loaded a small “quilt sandwich” on my longarm, quilted it up, and then used my embroidery machine to finish our tags.  They came out cute.  I finished mine out by just stitching a satin stitch edge around, in the lighter green thread, after I took this pic.
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Such a small project, but it still took me almost three hours to do these.  I enjoyed it, though.  And while I had my embroidery machine out, I made labels for two quilts that I made for my Mom, but gave them to her before I had the labels on.  She reminded me recently that I still hadn’t brought the labels to stitch on.  So next time we go to visit, I have some labeling to do!  🙂  One of her labels took 99 minutes to stitch out.  The other was almost an hour.  Embroidery is fun, but it’s not fast.  I love that I can work on other things at the same time, though.  Good job to my hubby for getting me the stand alone machine, rather than the embroidery upgrade for my Aurora.
Tomorrow starts another week at the day job.  I hope y’all have a great week!