Rainbow Verses - 2006

appx 50” X 50”

I made this quilt for my niece Mahala. I made up a design and did freestyle machine quilting with stars, hearts, and swirls, and wrote messages to her with the quilting. I was using fabric I had from before I knew there was such a thing as high-quality cottons,  so the quilt is fairly worn out at this point. The backing is covered in brightly colored butterflies.

Additional pictures:

Faded Memories quilt for hospice - 2008 or 2009

55” X 55”

This quilt was made for a hospice for cancer patients in northern IL. It was made using Moda Faded Memories fabric and some other high-quality cottons for the backing. I arranged 5" blocks into a pattern and hand-appliqued some puffy hearts on at the end. It was quilted with Mettler cotton thread in a shade of pink. I did a meandering type design as I machine quilted and did an accidentally unique method of wrap-to-back binding that doesn't show on the front. I think I used a Quilter's Dream polyester batting on this to give it more cuddle potential. 

Some close-ups:

Trapunto/Heirloom quilting workshop - 2008 or 2009

table runner

This was a project done in a workshop through the Northwest Suburban Quilter's Guild. Teacher Jean Lohmar was excellent. Heirloom quilting (super close stitching) was done using 100% silk thread in a neutral color. The blue in the pictures is from washout pen quilt design markings. Trapunto was done within the heart shaped scrolls. Heirloom quilting helps the trapunto to stand out more.


More pictures:

Infant Design - 2009

39.5” X 53.5”

This was made for my newborn niece Dahlia. I used all Kona Cotton and a bamboo/silk batting. I machine-quilted in the ditch using dark brown Mettler thread to match the main dark brown fabric shown and in the center of each block I machine-quilted a pink heart. Shown is the top before quilting. I can't find the finished pic and detail.

Big Vase of Purple Tulips - started 2006, finished 2009

58” X 53”

This is all flannel constructed freestyle and machine appliqued using Sulky thread and a couple of decorative stitches. I machine-quilted it and added a few trapunto elements. It has a cotton backing and binding in a light yellow pattern with big blue and purple flowers on it. It was donated to victims of the Austin fires in 2011. I can't find the finished picture. 

A few close-ups below:

Multicolor Practice Quilt- 2006

appx 60” X 60”

I made this in memory of the first quilt I ever made. However, this one is different in that my primary focus was on using it to practice free motion machine quilting. I didn’t want to pressure myself, so I decided the end result was to be a picnic blanket. I challenged myself to do a different quilting design in each block. Maybe later I will post some close-ups so you can see a lot of what NOT to do! I was working on original free motion designs “off-the-top-of-my-head” and at the same time still working on getting my machine speed and hand speed in sync in a nice rhythm. It was fun but it wasn’t until the very end of this project that I started to realize that it is okay--in fact, preferred-- if the machine goes faster than your hands. I have since started to practice a little with keeping my hands calm and steady while the machine races along. 

Some quilting close-ups:

Batik Pandaisies - 2006, 2012

This was my second experience with batiks. Freeform design and machine-appliqued blocks (no fusible). I was never able to find an arrangement that felt right. In August 2012 I finally sewed them together into a quilt top similar to the second picture below with a wide red border added but I am not happy with how it looks so I set it aside for now. I might be pulling out the seam ripper or just getting creative with the quilting.