Passion

While Market is in Houston we, all of us that can't go, have

 

 

Amy at http://amyscreativeside.com/bloggers-quilt-festival/ host

the Festival twice a year.

 

Do you have quilt to enter?

Lots of fun seeing all the different quilts

and when the times comes

you will be able to vote for your favorite

in the different classes.

 

Make sure you grab a drink and a favorite chair because there will be a lot,

 I mean a LOT of eye candy.

Anyone can enter and you can enter up to two quilts, with different posts

of course.

 

This is the second of my quilts, first one can be seen here
http://dewquilting.blogspot.com/2013/10/iq-quilt.html

This quilt was in my head for a long time.  This is all original, my design.
I had a little help from a few tools

Some rulers to help with those curves and lines.
I bought the template on the right, from Judi at http://www.greenfairyquiltsblog.com/
several years ago, first time I used it.  I already had the quilt on the frame so I made a copy
and cut it out, traced around it.  See it there in the triangle area?
Also had help from

All quilting is free hand.  I love how this finished, just like the one in my head.

It was raining the day I took pictures.

I used two layers of batting, the bottom is Warm & Natural 100% cotton and on the top I used
Tuscany Wool that I bought at AQS show in Paducah this past spring.

I've heard so much about silk thread that I decided to give it a try.
It was ok, except the thread kept hanging on the top of the spool
which made a lot of thread breaks.  I ran out before I finished the quilting and didn't have time to order more

 

so I used So Fine#60 and guess what .... can't tell any difference.

In hind sight I wish I had used Glide so that it would have a little sheen.

Other than that I would not change a thing.

 

 

I made this to hang in my dining room, it is 53X53.
 My DH even likes it,

he keeps running his hand over it.

I do like how the wool makes the designs "pop".

You can't tell from the pictures, but I went around all of the applique and it pops off the background.

This quilt has a lot of first for me.

 

Thank you for visiting and check out all the quilts at

http://amyscreativeside.com/bloggers-quilt-festival/

 

 

 

IQ quilt

This is the time of year for the Houston Quilt Market. 

Do you have your bags packed? 

 Airline tickets in hand? 

Money for food?

More important than food, do you have your fabric nest egg in your purse?

No?

Me neither!

About as close as I will get to Houston is to go down the street to

Houston's Meat Market and buy something for dinner.

 

But Amy at http://amyscreativeside.com/bloggers-quilt-festival/

has a wonderful contest for non-Houston quilters.

We won't spend any money, eye candy is free,

our feet won't hurt, sit in your favorite chair,

you might need to get a bib before visiting, drooling is excepted.

 

 

 

 

This is my IQ quilt that I am entering in the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

 

 

IQ quilt you may be asking.

 

IQ stands for Ian's Quilt (very original I know).

 

I made this quilt for my oldest son, Ian, who owns

 ICON Tattoo and Body Piercing in Nashville, TN.

I had planned for it to hang on a wall in his shop after he had to

relocate, due to his building of 8 years was being torn down (to make room for a parking lot, remember that song?)  Probably more than you really wanted to know...

anyway......

 

I did all of the quilting hand guided on my APQS Millie.

I made stencils for the words and quilted  micro lines (I don't know what else to call them)

to make them pop.  Warm & Natural on the bottom layer and Hobbs 20/80 for the top layer.

Love the way this combination of batting makes the raised areas really "pop".

Used Glide thread, has a little sheen to it and the light catches it just enough.

 

 

I used a design out of Karen McTavish's book for the borders.

 

 

A lot of micro stippling and micro lines.

I used a ruler for the

framing and the traced the motifs from Karen's book other than that

everything else was freehand.  Inspiration came from a quilt I saw that Lisa Snipes

http://thatcrazyquiltygirl.blogspot.com/

had made, after a email to her, she said "go for it"  she thought a quilt hanging in a tattoo shop

would be cool. 

Ian loves his quilt and I think he was surprised that his mom could

make a quilt like this.

I love how this quilt came together and love the way the quilting finished it.

 

 

Thank you for visiting and please look at all of the beautiful quilt over at Amy's

and vote for your favorites.

 

 

 

The reveal

I am so excited to share this one with you.

I had a lot of fun quilting this one and

learned a lot. I am getting the hang of it.

This one is mine, all mine, to hang in my dining room. 

 I've had this one in my head for awhile

and finally got to make it.

Wouldn't you know it would rain the day I wanted

to take pictures. I couldn't get the flash turned off and it 

wash out the pictures alittle.

Let me give some of the details.

 

It is 53X53 wallhanging.

The colors are a little brighter in the pictures.

I used W&N cotton batting for the bottom layer and my beloved wool batting that I bought in Paducah for the top layer.

I used silk thread and when I ran out of that, and didn't have time to reorder, I used So Fine.

I wish now I had used the Glide thread that I love.

 

 

I divided up the areas and found while quilting that I needed

to divide more of the areas, based on Lisa Calle's concept.

 

 

The design in the triangle is one that I bought from Judi at Green Fairy Quilts.  All of the other designs are mine made with rulers and some templates I made.

 

 

I just realized I didn't take a picture of the borders but you can see a corner in this pictures.  A lot of feathers, micro stippling, pebbles and McTavishing.  I don't like the thread build up when feathers have a spine, so I quilt mine without one.

 

 

I know a lot of pictures but I am very proud of this one.

I love everything about it and it turned out very close to what I had in my head.

 

Linking up withhttp://www.quiltmatters.blogspot.ca/2013/10/tgiff-lunch-anyone.html

 

and 

 http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/

 

    

Thanks you for visiting.

Have a sewing good weekend.

 

Let me give a peek at what has been keeping me

busy this past week.

Besides taking my father to the ER after a fall

and making sure that my mother and son was okay after she had a wreck, all are fine, (yes on the same day)

I was able to make some progress on this

 

I don't want to show the whole piece just yet,

really can't because it is still on the frame.

 

I have had so much fun working on this.

 

Yes, I mark my quilts with a blue marker,

never had any problems, now watch tomorrow I will.

I have heard so much about silk thread, how great and wonderful it is, so I ordered some for this quilt.

I don't really like it, there I said it.

I wish I had used the Glide thread that I love.

I actually ran out of the silk thread and don't have time to order

more so I started using So Fine #50.  I can't see any difference, so I hope that stays true.  A lot of work to mess up at the end.

I have heard from several teachers and instructors

to develop your own style, so I guess this is emerging as

MY style.

 

Have to have it finished this week( have plans for this one)

so be watching later in the week to see the whole piece.

 

Finally a finish

actually six finished.

Been in my hands way too long.

Some of you may remember late last November

a lady contacted me and wanted 9 memory quilts made from

her FIL shirts.  He had a massive heart attack while on an anniversary

trip.  She wanted them for Christmas gifts.

Yes, you read that right 10 quilts in a month.

I gave it my all but only got 3 finished and another top pieced.

I started working on them again in Feb, but several personal and family

problems arose.  In fact, I could not sew or quilt for about 3 weeks at one point.

I don't know what happened to this year but I was finally able to finish these up.

 

 

A beautiful sight to me.

Since I was rushed in the beginning I had to come up with a very simple

pattern, but I was a little concerned that they were....well, a little plain.

So I came up with quilting words of who he was in the borders, son, brother,

husband, father and grandfather or Pop as he was known.

 

 

 Every one is quilted differently but each has the same words.

I was asked to change the word Grandfather, on the first three, to Pop on the last six.  So three of them are a little different.

 

I tried to use pockets

 

 

or labels

 

Even paint stains and spots

 

Hope to have these delivered this weekend and start on the next group.

 

Linking up with Sarah http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/

 

 

I'm not gone

just real busy.

If I didn't have a 40 hour a week job,

if I didn't have to mow grass, wash clothes, do housework,

cook, grocery shopping,  entertain an 11 year old and aging parents

I just might get some quilting done.

 

I have been working on a few things,

finishing up some quilts that have been in

my hands way too long.

Pictures will follow, hopefully this week.

 

There is one picture I would like to share

 

 

My ICON or tattoo quilt won a ribbon at a small local quilt show.

 

 

 

I'm not asking how many quilts were in the class,

I'm going to hang my ribbon in my studio and be proud.

 

There were some beautiful quilts in the show.

There was a Log Cabin quilt I would have loved to have.

My phone was going dead so I couldn't take anymore picture, just glad

I could get one of my quilt.

Had to call my son and tell him his ICON quilt won a ribbon,

he was very proud of his mama and wondered if he was ever going to get his quilt.

 

I need to take vacation time to get caught up

on quilty things.

 

 

quilting along

 

Finished up remodeling my sons new shop.

Drywall hung, trim installed, everything painted, dusted and tidy.

Sounds pretty simple but took the two of us FOREVER.

Final inspections passed.

Equipment moved in, smiles on every face,

especially mine. 

 I get to quilt again.

 

This is what I've been working on

 

Working on finishing up a few commission quilts from last Christmas.

Yes, you read that right, last Christmas.

Life has not been simple this year, illness, injuries, work, deaths, remodeling, you name it,

 it's happened

 

Trying to get back into the swing of things.

 

 

Only had about an hour at night to work on it.

 

 

You may remember these memory quilts from Christmas.

 

I have 10 more memory quilts in line after these. 

 

Saturday I have a road trip...I have to deliver my HQ16 to it's new owner.

After that I think I can concentrate on quilting.

 

 

Warm & Natural batting, Glide thread (love this thread), panto in the center, can't recall the name right now, and custom in the borders.  I have one corner to finish and then to the next one.

 

Have a nice weekend.
Linking up with Sarah http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/ and
Amanda Jean at http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com