Kate's Quilt

Working on Kate's quilt. When I put it on, I had no idea what I was going to do. I thought about something really easy. Then it would be done in a day or two and we could get it on her bed this weekend. But the quilt was crying out for some unique quilting. It's very contemporary, so no feathers on this quilt. Since the fabric line is called oxygen it seemed most fitting to put circles in each block. After doing those I knew I needed a different looking line. So the double line going diagonally through the white on each square. So far I really like the look of it. I haven't decided what to put in the white rectangles between the blocks. The only drawback at this point is all the time it will take to do this one. Well, my 13 year old is worth a little extra time on her quilt!

Kate's Quilt

Here's the quilt I finished piecing while away on vacation. It was a very simple patterns so probably took only about 4 - 5 hours to piece. It's for Katie's queen size bed. When it's quilted, I'll post more pictures of it.

View from my bedroom window

There's nothing quite like getting away from home and visiting my sister. She lives in the country and this photo is the view from my bedroom window. I think she has one of the prettiest ponds. Her son made it for her. Laying in bed at night with the window open and hearing the water running has been so rejuvanating. I love being here. My two sisters and I have shopped, watched a great movie (The Young Victoria), quilted, talked, gone out to eat, had coffee at Starbucks, walked in the country, all things that make for a great getaway. I feel relaxed. The first two days here were spent with my aunts and that was a good time. Laughing with them and seeing how they live life in their 80's (3 of them are, one is only late 60's) was encouraging. The oldest doesn't have good health, but she traveled here and was in great spirits.
Now today, the rest of my family arrives. Tomorrow is fun family times, and Sunday a family wedding. Monday I'm back home to my life!

A Week's Vacation

Off to Spokane for a week. It's the visit with the aunts and then next weekend a family wedding. Should be lots of fun, relaxing and good to be away. My family will join me on Friday. My suitcase it almost too heavy to carry, but I must admit that it's filled with more fabric and projects than clothes! Ahh, a true vacation!

The Aunts

I am leaving this weekend for my parent's home to see my aunts. Three of my mother's sisters (she has 4) have flown in from different parts of the country to spend a week with my mom. Most of these aunts and my mother are in their 80's. I am so excited to see them. Not only because it most likely will be the last time on earth that I will have this chance, but also because I have great memories of times with them from my childhood. They are fun. I have had to work hard this week to get everything done so that I can be gone a week. Yesterday I was up and in my studio about 4 am. It's amazing how much one can do at that early hour. Today it's lots of errands to run and meals to plan for my family next week. This photo is really not my aunts -- just a photo of some aunts from the 1800's. Mine are not that old, but I thought it was a cute picture and reminded me of the aunts.

Swirls

Today's quilting was swirls. I did 4 quilts yesterday and today and all 4 were an all-over pattern of swirls. It's probably the most common pattern I put on a quilt. I could probably do them in my sleep! I'm a doodler, so swirls come naturally. They do look nice on most quilts and when someone wants to keep the cost of quilting down, that's probably what they will get -- swirls. (I also love the way they look on the back).

Quilt Racks For Sale

I love the quilt racks that my husband has made. I have 4 in different rooms of the house and recently I asked him to make me another for my quilt studio. When he made it, he also made a few extra racks to sell. What is so great about these racks is that you don't need a sleeve to hang a quilt. The racks are two pieces of wood with a groove routered into one piece for the edge of the quilt to fit into. Then the top piece is screwed down with the knobs and sandwiches the quilt in place. The size of the quilt that fits these type of quilt hangers also can vary quite a bit. The quilt rack in my living room is 6 feet long with the others being smaller. If you are interested in purchasing one of these quilt racks we have two 4 foot racks and two 5 foot racks for $38.00 and $48.00 for each. Email me at artisticmachinequilting@gmail.com.