Machine Quilting - Fancy Foxes

Karen and Brenda couldn't get enough of these fun little foxes and I could see why!

 Now, I know in these pictures the quilts are upside down, but if I tried to adjust the photo it would look even weirder than it does now. For this first quilt Brenda just wanted something simple yet modern. I used the foxes as my guide and quilted in these fun chevron lines. It doesn't compete visually with the foxes and lets the fabrics shine through.

 Then Karen made this large version of the pattern but wanted an all over pattern. We chose woodgrain as it fits the fox/woodland theme well.

 You can see the quilting a little better here. The colors were so fun and cheery.

You can really see the quilting on the back. Woodgrain is one of those patterns that every time I do it, it'll look different. The knots may be thinner or rounder, there may be more grain, the scale may be different. It's a very forgiving quilting design that adjusts with the scale of the quilt and my physicality. Depending on how I'm feeling can also alter the look (if I'm sore from custom quilting and rulerwork for example).

I really like the look of this design but please don't ask me to make it look just like this! I'm not sure I could do it!

Thank you Brenda and Karen! It's always a pleasure to work on your quilts, you both have so much fun with color and it shows!!!

Machine Quilting - Halloween Chevron

I can't believe it's about that time of year. The kids are getting ready to go back to school and I had neighbors in the past that would be putting out their Halloween decorations already. Speaking of which I need to stock up on some decorations this year (we are now in a subdivision that goes all out for Halloween I guess).

 This is a very simply pieced quilt, but it gives this very fun chevron look. Trying to emphasize the quilt pattern, I chose to quilt differing designs in each zig. Or is it a zag?

 I believe there were 5 different designs that were used throughout the quilt alternating as I went along.

What a fun and festive lap quilt! Thanks, Bobette for another fun quilt to work on! 

Nancy's Chevron Quilt

Sometimes simple is good. When you do something so simple but so effortlessly, it's just magical. Like this quilt.

 Now you all know (or you should by now if you've been following my blog for awhile) that I LOVE scrappy quilts. Nancy just put together some scraps with no rhyme or reason and came up with this fun quilt. When she got the pieces done she faded the colors and it just made this quilt that much more spectacular! Don't you agree?

 Once she got the top done she was on a search to find more of this "wave" fabric for the border since it reminded her of the lake we live so close to. Luckily she was able to get it but it was a tight squeeze in order to get enough for all four sides, but she did it!

We chose to quilt this simply with all-over waves to play off of the lake theme. You could go crazy with quilting and make this one custom, but Nancy wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, so simple was best. Not every quilt needs custom quilting.

Thanks, Nancy! Your quilts are always fun to work on!

Machine Quilting: Little England

One of the greatest parts about my job (and trust me, there are tons of great parts about my job)... I love hearing about the stories of what inspired you to make a quilt or who you're making it for and why.

It really helps me to figure out a plan of attack so I know how to quilt it and how it'll be used because that may change my plan a bit. For instance I will quilt a wall hanging a little differently than a love-use-&-abuse quilt.

 Beth made this quilt in memory of her mom. It was a kit from the Fat Quarter Shop and all of the fabrics feature England-themed motifs. There are double-decker buses and royal crowns and Union Jacks and and and...

Not sure whether this quilt would drape over the back of a couch or be a wall hanging eventually, we decided to quilt it with chevrons to emphasize the long squares and give it body for draping.

 The mixture of fabrics and quilting plays really well together and emphasize eachother without overpowering one another. Plus it helps to give this little gem a modern vibe too.

I mean seriously... Aren't those guards the cutest ever?!

We originally talked about an argyle type design but the more I looked at the quilt, it was too busy and would compete with the quilt top itself. Quilting should enhance a quilt, not take away from the quilt top. Or at least that's my opinion :)

This quilt actually inspired me to tackle one of my own projects. Come on back tomorrow and I'll show you what I have in mind. The quilt may not actually be quilted by the time the plan posts here on the blog... But hopefully in the near future I'll have it finished!

Thanks, Beth! I love this quilt and I had so much fun working on it.