QFC SewFest Quilt Tops Arrive - ALL ready to be quilted...!

Look what the mailman brought to me today from those amazing Quilters for Comfort (QFC) quilt ladies!

It's just like Christmas for me - to get a box FULL of quilt tops ALL ready to be quilted... aren't these gorgeous?!

Can you believe what these ladies can get done in just ONE week at a SewFest quilting retreat?!?

And you're only seeing the 'tip' of the quilting top(s) iceberg - last year, they did over 30 tops, and this year...even more...the numbers are STILL coming in!!  Way to Go Ladies!!!

And now for my part in this quilting extravaganza - to finish these gorgeous tops with glorious quilting sooo...like I always say...

Time to get back to it!
~Deb

PS...want to see some of what we accomplished in 2012, then follow these direct links:  SewFest 2012, More SewFest 2102, and finally even MORE SewFest 2012 ;-)

Finishing Up the first of the QBBs...

Just putting the finishing touches on the first of 10 Quilts Beyond Borders quilts I am currently working on:

Vining quilt on the left, 'swirl quilt' on the right

Swirl quilt getting 'swirl quilted' w/HQ groovy boards - LOVE this look!

Back of Swirls

I really had FUN quilting these swirls w/HQ Groovy boards and will definitely use these again in future quilts.  I like how once you get everything lined up, there's really not much to stress about, just keep that stylus 'in the groove'...;-)

Attaching the double-fold binding to the back

       

All finished up and ready to ship w/first two

I will be shipping the first 4 out the beginning of the week, and continue to work on the remaining quilts...

Sooo, like I always say...Time to get back to the FUN!

~Deb

Quilts Beyond Borders coming along...

Just an update on where I am w/Quilts Beyond Borders quilts - two of them got ALL feathered out and are completely quilted/bound/labeled:

 

Attaching the binding

 

           Blind stitching the front binding in place

 

                                                                                                    Back of binding w/corner

 

Both feathered quilts all finished up w/binding/quilt label

Backs of both feathered quilts - 

not too bad and had a blast quilting these all-over freehand feathers ;-)

And now to finish up the 'vining' blue quilt and the swirl quilt - only 1 1/2 more passes and I'm finished!

Time to get back to it...

~Deb

Dr. Who...?

So what do you do at 3:00 am when time is running out and you need something really cool for the super-neat DGD whose going off to camp in a few hours and what you'd originally planned has not panned out?  Well you whip up some super-quick/super-cool substitutes...Dr. Who pillow cases anyone...?

Ran a Google search for 'Dr. Who embroidery designs' and Tammi D. of Small Town Embroidery popped up w/10 Dr. Who digital embroidery designs in 3 different sizes -PERFECT!

I only had time to make two Dr. Who embroidered pillow cases:

 

 

but I think they turned out pretty cool, don't you?

Even managed to finish up a vintage quilt w/cats for her to take along - should work as a great camp quilt substitute until the Dr. Who fabric arrives to make the original quilt I intended ;-)  She seemed pleased and surprised, since she didn't know what I'd been up to - I got TWO HUGE hugs for my surprise efforts, that's ALWAYS the best part!

Happy Camping to ALL you campers out there... and especially to my very favorite DGD!!!
~Deb aka 'Grammy' ;-)

My Frame is FULL!

Received my box of quilt tops from Quilts Beyond Borders and decided to get them ALL loaded:

4 quilts on my frame at the same time - it's FULL!

I've had two quilts loaded at the same time, but never FOUR - that's my All-time record ;-)  And for a good cause, no less.  Quilts Beyond Borders is a great program run by some really wonderful people, and one I urge anyone interested in making quilts for kids, and/or even quilt tops, to give them a good long look.

I practiced my feathers on the first two quilt tops and was having soooo much FUN making feathers I forgot to stop long enough to take pics!  (I'll be sure and snap a few when I finish up and unroll to take them off the frame and post w/updates ;-)

Did have to stop quilting in the wee hours of the monrin' and that's when it occurred to me to take some photos prior to turning in:

               Aren't those some neat chickens?

Having so much FUN with this continuous freehand vining leaf pattern I took from the quilt top itself:

Using a variegated So Fine 40 wt. Walkabout green needle thread, which is quilting out great!

Thinking about using a spiral quilting pattern in the other quilt top but for now, like I always say...

Time to get back to the FUN!
~Deb

Let Freedom Ring...!

CELEBRATE Independence!

Sit back and Enjoy ;-)

Happy 4th EVERYONE!

~Deb

I found my Feathers! w/Updates

Been practicing for what seems like FOREVER on all kinds of feathers - bump back, hook, and my current favorite feather - the Jamie Wallen 'Mystical Feather' aka the typical longarm freehand quilt feather.  For some reason, I relate to 'how' Jamie does feathers and mine look very similar to his, (I did say 'similar' - his are perfect, mine are in transition), soooo...I'm stickin' with what is workin' for now ;-)

Here's my latest real attempt on a real Carpenter's Star quilt - no practice here!

Freehand Jamie Wallen feathers - not perfect, just much better!

And I think with more practice and quilt application, these feathers will soon be something I can be proud of and offer to clients.

Used crosshatching in half-circle center alternate gold triangle blocks and...practiced various 'other' techniques in every other center half-circle gold triangles - got LOTS of practice w/different filler techniques and kept it rather consistent w/crosshatching.

Implemented an Irena Bluhm feather filler technique in the half-circles of the navy blue/off-white triangles,
while consistently feathering around ALL the half-circles in ALL the off-white/gold/navy blue triangle blocks

                                 Free-hand feathering to the gold tip corner triangle points helped finish everything out.  

Notice how 'crinkly' everything is?  That's because I didn't pre-wash 'any' of my Civil War reproduction fabrics just so everything would look 'aged' after I laundered upon finishing the quilting, and Hobbs 80/20 batting really helps out with that total effect...LOVE IT!

UPDATE 7/7/2013:  Finished and bound, waiting for the proper quilt label, still pondering on that ;-)

Learned a whole lot about feathers with this quilt that I will be able to apply to future quilts - I'm excited about that!  Thinking of how I can mix feathering w/McTavishing - that should be loads of FUN!!

I have 4 charity quilt tops I will be practicing on arriving from Quilts Beyond Borders, along with two lap throws I'm currently piecing, one in colorful summertime prints & batiks:

 Lots of space for feathering!

Like I always say - time to get back to it...

Later,

~Deb

PS...Thanks Katy S. for the info on Quilts Beyond Borders!  If you all get the time, pop on over to Katy's, she's doing some FUN stuff over there, including some really great quilting ;-)