Patriotic Snowball coming off the frame...w/Updates

Look what just came off my frame - isn't he a beauty?

QFC SewFest Quilt #4 - Patriotic Snowball

I knew when I first saw this quilt that the white 'snowballs' should probably be feathered out however, I did originally entertain the idea of embroidering each block w/patriotic themes.  After the first failed attempt due to all the center seams of each snowball, I quickly gave that idea up and went back to the tried and true, and I'm sooo glad I did, aren't you?

My feathers still aren't as perfect as I'd like for them to be, but they are much improved.  These are traditional 'bump back' feathers.  As you probably noticed, I also chose to add curved cross-hatching in each center wreath and I think it adds quite a bit to each snowball.

Snowball feathered out w/curved cross-hatching

I tried several curved rulers to achieve the perfect curved dross-hatching result I was going for, but it wasn't until I decided to use one of the Steady Edge rulers by Quilts on the Corner, that I finally got it...Thanks, Renae!

Feathering was also added to each navy border:

Bump-back feathers w/Rainbows Patriotic

Feathering in navy blue border w/Rainbows Patriotic

And continuous straight line quilting in the white borders 1/4" apart, along w/McTavishing in the patriotic borders:

 

White border also straight line quilted 1/4" apart w/Rainbows Patriotic

Each continuous line of quilting was achieved on the side borders after ALL the SID work was completed by rolling the quilt back and forth for each continuous line.  It took awhile to complete, but the final result is well worth it!

Patriotic border McTavish quilted w/Rainbows Patriotic

I always LOVE looking at the back of every quilt, especially the McTavish quilted ones:

Quilting back of Patriotic Snowball

Patriotic Snowball Stats:

• 32.75 Quilting hours
• 21 bobbins
• SID - clear mono-poly and Rainbows Patriotic
• White snowballs - white Maxi-lock in needle and bobbin 
• Red & navy blue interior snowball sashing - McTavish quilted w/clear mono-poly
• Navy/white/patriotic borders - Rainbows Patriotic

This stunning Patriotic Snowball is officially quilted/bound/labeled/gently laundered, packed and ready for shipping!

UPDATE:  shipped and on it's way to final destination along w/2 other Veteran Quilts to be showcased in upcoming blog posts.

Again, it's always such an honor with pure pleasure for me to quilt these glorious Veteran's quilts...

And now I'm off for some shut-eye,
~Deb

Friday QOV Finish...

Just coming off the frame, this stunning Quilt of Valor turned out even more gorgeous than I originally envisioned:

Stunning Quilt of Valor coming off the frame

Left side w/Blue Stars

Right side w/Stars & Stripes

QOV Back

Red & White Stripes quilted w/Wave Quilting and McTavishing

Wave quilting in red stripes

Quilt of Valor Star

Quilt of Valor Stats:

• 21.25 quilting hours
• 18.5 bobbins using Amber to match gold backing fabric 
• SID w/clear mono-poly
• White/Tan background - LAVA Sandy Beach
• Red areas - So Fine #40 Bush Fire variegated
• Blue areas - LAVA Deep Sea

This Quilt of Valor is now officially quilted, pruned, boxed and ready to ship.  It has been a true honor for me to continue to participate in this Quilt of Valor project, and a joy to quilt this incredible Quilt of Valor Quilt...Thank YOU!

My Best to Each and Everyone who participated in this QOV Team Effort - Well Done,

~Deb

Last Minute Monday Mash-Up w/Updates...

Have just enough time to get this one in on this last day of September!  What a whirlwind of a weekend - had plenty of those end-of-the-month final details to take care of, like figuring out what borders needed to be added to this SewFest 2013 Veteran's Quilt prior to quilting:

Added 4 exterior borders to this neat 'Gold Star' Veteran's Quilt

...applied bindings to 3 of the QFC quilts I'd already quilted:

Adding binding via machine utilizing an elongated applique stitch

 w/Rainbows Patriotic thread

Stitched down the quilt labels and prepped these quilts for shipping tomorrow

Gently laundered/Bound/Labeled - Ready for shipping!

UPDATE:  these 3 QFC SewFest Veteran's Quilts shipped 10/1/2013 - projected delivery 10/7/2013

Had just enough time to get this stunning Quilt Of Valor loaded:

Halfway through quilting this eye-catching QOV

This latest Quilt of Valor was sent to me by The Quirky Quilters Quilt Guild of Harrisville, MI*.  The creator of this amazing quilt is Peg from Florida - didn't she do a wonderful job?!  My only hope is my quilting will do this incredible quilt justice while honoring the intended - keep your fingers & toes crossed for me! 

*CORRECTION: the Quirky Quilters Guild is located in Oscoda, MI.  My sincere apologies to the Quirky Quilters Guild for my error and a Big Thank YOU to Clairellen for pointing this out to me ;-)

For now, I'm performing my typical SID w/clear mono-poly and Amber Bottom Line in the bobbin to match the gorgeous gold backing.  Once I start the FUN quilting, I'll post more pics - planning on doing some 'flag-waving quilting', along w/Tango quilting in the background, (my version of McTavishing).

Adding wave quilting w/HQ wave ruler

This new HQ wave ruler is really making light work of my wave quilting - notice the needle line-up mark - making it a breeze to position the ruler perfectly each and every time it's moved - genius!

I have some really pretty MasterPiece Indigo Blue and Red Hill for the corresponding blue & red areas, along w/White Bottom Line for these quilting applications, can hardly wait to get to that, probably sometime tomorrow!

Well...so much for those thread ideas, you know how that goes.  We have those initial quilting/thread visions and then when faced w/actual quilting reality, and the original chosen thread colors don't match/are too shiny/not the right weight, etc., we make a few changes.  I am now using So Fine #40 Bush Fire for the red flag stripes to make the waves - it's a wonderful variegated that has the darker hues of reds/burgandys in some of the stripe fabrics:

Wave quilting in the red stripes of this QOV flag quilt

McTavishing/Tango quilting w/LAVA Sandy Beach in white stripes

The red stripes and stars are all 'waved out', the white stripes are half done, and will move on to the blue areas sometime tomorrow ;-)

Blue wavy borders w/Tang Quilting in the backgrounds

Close-up of star/flag stripes quilting

This stunning Quilt of Valor from the Quirky Quilters Guild, located in Oscoda, MI, is officially finished:

QOV coming off the frame

As soon as this Quilt of Valor is all pruned of stray thread tails, will be readied for shipping!

For now - time to get back to it...

Later,
~Deb

Toss-Up Tuesday...w/Updates

What a busy, busy weekend/week so far - got quite a bit done, I'm pleased to say!  Finished up a UFO for the DGD - her upcoming B'day present, a personalized Dr. Who quilt:

 

Neat, huh?

You'll remember, I made her some matching Dr. Who pillow cases earlier for music camp

Should be able to get it quilted prior to her B'day in late October - just don't tell her, it's a secret!

UPDATE 1/07/2014:

Dr. Who Quilt blog links from start to finish:

Creating Dr. Who Quilt:  http://donebybettyboop.blogspot.com/2013/09/toss-up-tuesday.html

Dr. Who on the frame:   http://donebybettyboop.blogspot.com/2013/11/dr-who-is-on-frame.html

Dr. Who coming off the frame...FINALLY!: http://donebybettyboop.blogspot.com/2014/01/dr-who-finally-coming-off-my-frame.html 

Dr. Who Embroidery Designs:  available from Tammi D. of Small Town Embroidery w/10 Dr. Who digital embroidery designs in 3 different sizes.
 
Finished up 3 of the 6 quilts needing to be quilted for those busy QFC ladies:

SewFest Quilt #1 - Eagle/Star quilt coming off the frame

SewFest #2 - Patriotic Log Cabin

...the third quilt is on the frame just about finished up and should come off later today, and quilt #4 is ready to load.  Here's a few pics of that progress:

McTavish and outline quilted w/clear mono-poly

Fireworks quilted w/Rainbows Patriotic in needle, Maxi-Lock in bobbin

SewFest #3 - Fireworks & Stars Veteran's Quilt coming off the frame

UPDATE:  10/07/2013 - these first 3 QFC SewFest quilts have been shipped and received.

AND, I decided it was FINALLY time to finish putting together my Modern Day Hero, Patriotic Boots quilt.  Here's where I am so far:

I spend about 4 hours each day piecing/embroidering and 4-6 hours quilting - it's a nice balance for me right now ;-)

Modern Day Hero, Patriotic Boots quilt finally getting assembled!

Since I also have two QBBs, a Quilt of Valor, a wedding quilt to finish up, and 2 additional gift quilts in my quilt queue...

Time to get back to it...
~Deb




Update:  just got these block strips assembled and ready to sew together:

Boy would a design wall look good right now - but the TV room carpet will just have to do ;-)

FUN Friday

Having loads of FUN quilting this wonderful Patriotic Log Cabin quilt top I received from those QFC ladies that was pieced during one of their recent SewFest retreats, (here's a link to a post showing several pics of some of these gorgeous quilt tops I received - QFC SewFest Quilt Tops:

Patriotic Log Cabin Beauty

 

McTavishing those colorful borders!

'Bump-d-Bump' feathering across the log cabin blocks

I'm thinking the blue plaid border w/hearts will get some ruler work quilting treatment utilizing the pattern grid of the fabric along with one of my favorite rulers - The Line Tamer!  I've used it in several quilts recently with terrific results...so why stop now?!? ;-)

Also incorporating an Angela Walters trick in the small red border with a continuous line/swirl design which is working out great.

That's it for now...time to get back to the FUN!
~Deb

Thursday Thrill...

I was absolutely 'thrilled', (pun intended ;-), when I could FINALLY quilt again after a long hiatus of over 2 weeks as a result of no air conditioning in my quilting studio during a record-breaking heat wave here in the MidWest!  While I don't have the air conditioner completely fixed, was able to cool down the studio enough w/fans and partial air conditioner for my quilting machine to work comfortably.  And just look what I have been able to work on - my youngest son's wedding quilt:

More than half-way through stabilizing this red/burgundy beauty using clear mono-poly for SID

 

A little 'Line Tamer' work

The Line Tamer works great for stitch-in-the-ditch (SID)

I would dearly LOVE to get back to this project, but today we are acutally having a few thunderstorms and I hesitate to run my Beloved Betty during any kind of storm soooo...I'm piecing together a quick little farm quilt for a special 3 month old I had the pleasure of meeting over the weekend, and it's coming along nicely:

Nothin' like a little green tractor quilt!

 Time to finish up,

~Deb

In Memory...To Honor...

In Memory of Those Who Have Fallen:

In Honor of Those Who Remain...

My Best to You and Yours on this - our Day of Remembrance of 9/11

~Deb