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.

Tension Headaches - A Common Complaint?

If there's one complaint I've heard the most from customers about machine quilting it's the thread tension. I know many other machine quilters read this blog so I'll offer a few insights and hopefully some help. Tension is a headache! There, I've said it. I've had times when no matter what I try the tension seems off. Most often it's the bobbin tension that is the struggle. If you have a different color of thread in the bobbin from the top and the tension isn't right, it can be a nightmare. I recently had a customer drop off a quilt that she didn't take to her usual machine quilter because she said the tension on the bobbin thread is always too tight and she wants this quilt quilted with the backing fabric on top (so the bobbin thread will be what shows on the top). That set the bar pretty high to get that quilt's tension right.
So here's a few hints:
--find a type and brand of thread (or a couple of types) that run well on your machine and stick with those. I only venture into other kinds of thread when I really have the time to work with something different. My favorites are Perma-core by A & E and Aurifil.
--test out tension if it's a new thread or if there are other factors (batiks, thin battings, applique work, fabric content other than cotton, etc.) I keep a test piece close by and sometimes also test right at the edge of the quilt (not on the actual top).
--keep a bobbin case set for different kinds of thread. I use some bottom line thread and have a bobbin case just set for that thread. It's so fine that my bobbin needs to be different than for most other threads.
--don't be afraid to experiment with tension settings. Start with either bobbin or top and set it really loose and then tighten it up by moving the tension dials ever so slightly. Same with the bobbin, tighten the screw just a fraction. Keep testing it out on a scrap of fabric. I always use high contrast threads in top and bobbin so I can see what is happening when I'm adjusting tension.
--check to be sure everything is functioning properly. If you have mis-threaded somewhere that will most likely affect the tension. If your bobbin case has a burr or is just really worn it will affect your tension. (I struggled for months with tension and finally bought a new bobbin case and instantly the tension issue was solved).

Hopefully that will be helpful to someone and those tension headaches can be avoided.

Reproduction Quilt

I have always liked reproduction fabric. Maybe it's because I always secretly wished to be born in an earlier generation. I like old things so my nostalgia about reproduction fabric fits right in. This is a customer's quilt for a wedding. It needs to be in the mail by Friday. I struggled over what to do for awhile last night and finally just decided to start and go with my gut level instinct. Usually what I first see to put on a quilt in terms of design ends up being the best. When this quilt first arrived, there was a photo with it from the pattern and most of the quilt was cross-hatched. I do not like cross-hatching. Actually I like how it looks on a quilt, but the work and time it takes to do it causes me to dislike it a lot. Also, just cross-hatching the whole quilt wouldn't add much interest in the quilting design. Some straight line work, though, would add to the geometric look with the nine patches and sashing. So as you can see by the photos my designs are laid down for the whole quilt. Now I just need about a full day of quilting to complete this masterpiece.

A Week's Work

This quilt has been on my longarm for a week and it's finally done. It was a lot of work, but the main reason it ended up being on my longarm so long was because of the little circles in the pink and purple areas. I could only stand to do those for 15 to 20 minutes at a time before it drove me nuts! It's kind of mindless work, but hard on the hands and wrists. The quilt did turn out really nice but I'm mostly glad this week's work is done.