Category: quilts

applique · daily life · family · longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilting · quilts

Making up for lost blogging time…lol

Wild Rose Quilter6 Comments

I’ve been going around today taking some pictures to post in the next few days.  Today, I will start with some pics I took yesterday.  I took my cousin’s quilt to my parents house, to lay out on their bed for better photos.  I still don’t have it trimmed, and now that my shoulder is feeling better, I hope to be able to get the binding attached to the front today.  Then I can start the handstitching.  I think it will be plenty big, even after shrinking when I wash it.  I’m sure y’all are getting tired of this one, and will be ready for me to move on to another project…lol.  Right now, this one has to be top priority. I think they will love it, especially when they notice the little details, like the horses and horse shoes in the borders, and the stetsons and boots. That is not threadiness in the feather spine, but marking chalk, which will wash out.

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Speaking of yesterday, we went to my parents house, which is an hour from where we live.  My brother and his family came, too.  We had a really nice day.  I ate wayyyyy to much and loved every bite! Mom sent us home with a nice bit of leftovers and I am looking forward to heating them up in a bit. 

It is freezing cold outside and we are getting our first snowfall of the season. What a great day to get to be home! Ilove, love, love four day weekends! 🙂

Coming up soon, I will have pics of some small projects I managed to work on, even while my shoulder was bothering me so, and I will discuss my stash and the need to be using it up and not adding to it, and catching up with the “what’s on your bed” question that has been going around.  Stay tuned! 🙂

community · daily life · fabric baskets · longarm quilting · machine quilting · pretty fabric · quilts · sewing

Time’s Up! And the winner is…..

Wild Rose Quilter6 Comments

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Congratulations Deb Levy! Email me your snail mail, and I will be sending you your fabric prize.  I chose five of my favorite “blender” fabrics from my stash and cut one yard pieces from each.

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Thank you to all of the 22 entries in my blog contest! I wish I could send you all a prize.  I will have to think of more reasons for future contests!

Notice that I used my newly made basket to hold your names!

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I think it’s not too bad for a first try, though I’m not convinced I’m finished with it just yet.  I think it needs some kind of handles added.  I hope to get a few smaller ones made up for some handmade Christmas gifts this year.

I haven’t signed up to be an official PIF participant, (the Pay It Forward movement that is going around on many of the blogs) simply because I have so many obligations to meet in my life already, that I didn’t want to sign up, fail, and feel badly.  However, I intend to unofficially participate, and look for ways to bless others with my handiwork.  I just don’t want it to feel like another thing I “have” to get done.  I hope that doesn’t sound terrible, I’m just being honest.  Most days I’m already stretched about as thin as I can go, as I know most of you are, too.  I really admire those of you that find ways to handle it all, and still find time and energy to give so much of yourselves. 

I am also happy to report that my stepdaughter is going home from the hospital as I type! She had her surgery Thursday and all went well.  The doctor didn’t see anything that looks suspicious, but we won’t have the official report til next week.  That is such a huge relief! I just wish she didn’t have to go through the discomfort that follows.  She is such a special young woman and I love her very much! Thank you for your prayers for her.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Blogroll · community · longarm quilting · quilting · quilts · sewing

TADA!!! 10,000 Hits!

Wild Rose Quilter22 Comments

Ok, I promised a contest on my blog when I reached 10,000 hits.  That magic number just popped up in my stats! So, here is what I am going to do to celebrate all my fun friends in blogland.  Everyone that comments on THIS post will be entered into a drawing.  The prize will be FABRIC!!! I will raid my stash for a nice selection to send to the lucky winner.  I can’t believe I have faithful readers, but I do, and I appreciate you!  I enjoy sharing with y’all and reading up on your blogs.  Thanks for coming to visit me!

I will keep the the contest open til noon on Saturday to give everyone a chance to pop in and not miss out on the fun!  Good luck!

fabric baskets · longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilt top · quilting · quilts · sewing

WIP Wednesday

Wild Rose Quilter5 Comments

I have managed to work on my projects some this week, in the evenings after work.  Tonight, before DH got home and dinner was ready, I managed to get started on the final big feather in my cousin’s quilt.

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And, I’ve been wrapping clothesline while watching TV at night, and on my lunch breaks I’ve been able to stitch for a few minutes on my first basket attempt.  This is kind of fun! It’s really starting to look like something!

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There is one small spot right before I stopped stitching where my fabric shifted and the clothesline is showing.  I will fix that.  And that’s all I have for my midweek project report!

longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilt top · quilting · quilts · sewing

Sneak Peeks at Quilting the “Cowboy Way”

Wild Rose Quilter12 Comments

I am almost finished quilting my cousin’s quilt.  One large feather to go, and it will be on to the binding. Since my blog has been seriously lacking in quilt related photos lately, I’m going to make up for it with some preview photos.  I wanted to give them “durability” in the quilting, as this will be used, but also wanted special elements in the quilting to reflect their lifestyle, and give it a personal touch for them.  Thankfully, Dave Hudson has several designs that filled the bill perfectly.  This top started out at right at 118″ square.  a quick measurement a moment ago, tells me the quilting process has already shrunk it to about 115″.  I know it will shrink a bit more when I wash it, but surely it will still be large enough.  I always worry about that!  Anyway, here are the pics…they aren’t the best quality, but never fear, there will be more when it is finished. 🙂

Lots of stippling, and a bit of feathering…carrie7.jpg

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I put Dave Hudson’s stallions in the inner top and bottom borders.

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I put Dave’s horseshoes in the side inner borders.

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I used another of Dave’s pantos for the large outside borders.  It has Stetsons & cowboy boots with meandering around them. It is perfect for this quilt.

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And finally, Quilt EZ feathered wreaths in the corners.

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And that concludes the preview show.  I think it is coming together quite nicely.  I also think I am FINALLY “getting it” when it comes to doing a custom quilt job.  I have struggled with “putting it all together” and getting the quilt stabilized w/o problems, etc.  I don’t know why this was so hard for me to figure out, but I think the light bulbs are finally all coming on! 

longarm quilting · machine quilting · quilting · quilts

A cute quilt and a great panto!

Wild Rose Quilter7 Comments

I finished quilting this little gem of a quilt last night after work.  It is a customer top, made by my good friend, Betty.  She did a great job on this one, and chose the Star Swirl panto, from Terri Watson & Michelle Wyman. I love this panto, it quilts up quick & easy, & looks great.  This top and backing were made from unwashed batiks, so I was a little apprehensive, but Corky handled it great.  I had one spot I had to pick out and restitch, because it skipped some stitches.  I’m not sure what caused it, but I thought about all the tips I have read and decided to loosen the quilt sandwich a bit more, and I didn’t have any more problems.  It was one little spot, about 1/2 inch long where there was one long stitch.  The backing is a gorgeous red batik, and I had trouble getting a good photo of it, but the pattern and variegated thread look fabulous on it. I think Betty will really like it.

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The next quilt to go on the machine is my cousin’s log cabin, with the cattle brand in the center.  I’m anxious to get started on it.  I hope this weekend will be good for quilting! Hopefully my body will be on the same page as my mind, and be cooperative!

daily life · dogs · longarm quilting · Lulu · NASCAR · quilt top · quilting · quilts

Thank You, Gina!

Wild Rose Quilter7 Comments

Yesterday, my mailman brought a sweet surprise.  My prize from Gina, for winning her birthday drawing on her blog.  She had all kinds of goodies packed into this adorable coffee cup, including fabric & chocolate.  There is also some yummy Apple Cinnamon Chardonnay jelly. I need a little smilie face licking it’s lips to insert here.  (WordPress really needs to improve the smilies and ease of use.  How hard could that be?) Anyway, I digress…Thank you Gina!

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Thank you for the “feel better” wishes. After taking muscle relaxers for a couple of days, I’m still sore, but better.  I’ve taken Jan’s advice, and ordered an inversion table.  My chiro had mentioned a couple visits ago, that he might start me on traction, so hopefully the inversion table will do the trick. I have had xrays done, which show I have significant straightening of my cervical spine, and I have a bulging disc.  My chiro has helped, it just doesn’t last very long.  I had an MRI on my shoulder, but not my cervical spine.  That might not be a bad idea. I’ve taken it pretty easy all weekend, but I did manage to complete my cousing’s quilt top, and prepare the backing.  I also loaded a throw size customer on the machine, and have a couple panto rows done.  Of course, I’m watching NASCAR today.  🙂

Lulu still seems to be doing better, but I think I will call the vet to see if it’s too soon for her to have another allergy shot this week, and maybe just have him look in her ears again to make sure the antibiotics did all the good in there.

We watched The Illusionist last night.  I give it two thumbs up!  One of the better movies I’ve seen lately.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

dogs · Lulu · quilt top · quilting · quilts

Starry Log Cabin and Stuff

Wild Rose Quilter9 Comments

I’ve already reported how I spent most of Saturday.  Sunday, I had planned to get the outer border added to my cousin’s quilt, along with getting some more work done in the entryway.  Well, I forgot that I still needed to cut the yardage needed and prewash & iron it.  So, I managed to get it washed Sunday, but that’s as far as I got with that.  I also threw in the fabrics I pulled for the fall wallhanging, that needed washing.  Saturday night, I completed that last of the Starry Log Cabin blocks.  I pressed them, and began assembling it.  This is what I have so far.starrylog1.JPG

It’s really going together much better than I anticipated.  This is NOT my finest piecing effort, and I was afraid the stars were going to be way wonky.  Not too bad, though…

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I think I will really love this quilt when it’s done.  It is going to have that old fashioned quilt feeling to it, very comforting.  I am pressing the seams open to eliminate some of the bulkiness in the stars.  Hopefully that will help with the quilting, which will probably be an allover of some sort.

Tonight, after work, I got the border fabric pressed and ready to start cutting borders for my cousin’s quilt, and I hope to have them sewn on and that quilt top completed no later than the end of this coming weekend.  I know I won’t get anymore work done on it tonight.  I am tired.  I am waiting on the pizza to get here 🙂 I really need to get this quilt finished, though.  My cousin and her husband are sooooo excited about it.  I hope that it lives up to their expectations.  I can’t wait to get the finished product to them.  She is about 13 years younger than I am, and I helped my aunt with her some when she was a baby.  I am very fond of her. I just wish I got to see them more often. 

Here is my poor little Lulu, who I think, I hope, may be starting to feel a little better.

poorlulu.JPG Mmmm…she got to take her antibiotic in a bite of pizza tonight.

longarm quilting · machine quilting · NASCAR · quilt top · quilting · quilts

Waaaa!! It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to!

Wild Rose Quilter5 Comments

Ok, yesterday it was Kay, today it’s me 😦 .  I’m doing the dreaded “f” word.  Yep, frogging.  It was supposed to be a quickie, easy peasy little money maker.  42″ wallhanging with Leaf Pile panto.  How hard can that be?  Well, apparently pretty difficult.  My customer requested a variegated with colors in the fabrics.  I have a cone of Signature Autumn, and the colors in it are PERFECT.  But, it’s a Tex 50.  I’m not experienced with this thread, so I filled  a bobbin with Tex 40 Signature in Camel.  I thought I had the tension set pretty good…did some practice stitches first and tweaked it, took off stitching.  First problem was a thread break.  Fixed that, then noticed that the pokies on top are pretty bad.  Looks great on the back.  I’m frogging the whole first row.  Thank goodness it’s only 42″ and not 102″.  So, I’m sure it’s a tension balance thing, and I went back to my practice sandwich, and have it looking good on top there, but then I look at the bottom, and the pokies have moved down there.  GRRRR…maybe I just need to give up and use a pretty Rainbow I have that will work with this top, also.  I also tried filling a bobbin with the variegated, and try to match the bobbin color with what was coming off the top at the same time, but that didn’t work and I had worse pokies.  Is it possible to run variegated in top and bottom without ANY pokies?  I hate pokies.  

Right now, I’m leaving it alone for awhile, to watch the NASCAR race and work on piecing my borders for Carrie & John’s quilt.  I got the entire center pieced together yesterday and am quite happy with it.  Wonder if I will see Diane on TV today? 

This is the center of the quilt, before I got the last row added.

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And, on another bright note, I now have the starry log cabin block countdown under twenty!

applique · quilt top · quilting · quilts

Need Some Applique Advice

Wild Rose Quilter2 Comments

Ok, applique gurus…I would love some input from you.  I am to the applique stage on my cousin’s log cabin.  Right now, I think my plan is to do fusible with satin stitch on the edges.  Or would you recommend a different method?  This quilt, though I’m sure it will be well cared for, will be used.  It is intended for their bed.  This is the applique pattern I am to use.  It is their cattle brand.

brand.JPG It will go here, in the pieced center of the log cabin quilt, barn raising layout.

lccenter.JPG Another question is that I do not have the right color of embroidery thread.  The applique will be done in the darkest of the browns I am using in the logs.  I do, however, have the right color in Signature cotton machine quilting thread.  Any reason not to use it for the satin stitching?  Do I need to wait til I can get the right color of brown embroidery thread?

Thanks for any help! I really want to get this right the first try!