Feathered square

This lone star customer quilt features many quilting motifs from the 1980's.
During the 1980's it seemed like there were feathered circles, hearts, etc. in almost every piece. It's been awhile since I've done any feathered motifs. There were only eight in this project - a manageable amount.

Country at its best

This is my current customer project. Although it is reminiscent of the 1980's and early 1990's, it is a classic country piece.

There is a lot of hand quilting in this project. I am currently quilting the small baskets. This is a project I will miss once shipped.

Signature quilt

This small quilt top is designed to be a signature quilt. Once sandwiched with batting, the cream diamonds will have 1 1/2" quilting lines ready for people to sign their name or add a message.
I have given signature quilts for retirement parties and baby showers.

This picture does not do justice to the beautiful blue print fabric.

To be quilted after the holiday rush.

Thread Play

This is a small piece of a customer wall hanging. Each wild flower of the batik is outlined by quilting. The thread used is dark green to blend with the background. The other half of the square is 1/4" echo quilting with tan thread.

The black batting is wonderful - no bearding and easy to needle.

Geese

Over a year ago I completed a double size quilt from geese square made during the 1930's by a twelve year old girl from a NH farm. The squares were calico geese button stitched on heavy muslin. I enjoyed finishing the piece for the sewer who lives in a nearby assisted living home and her family.
I have worked on many antique animal motif quilts before - butterflies, scottie dogs- but this was the first goose quilt. SO I made a little plastic template of one of the geese.
This baby quilt is made from the template. I choose a favorite yellow print on a heavy muslin. For quilting I outlined the geese and echoed 1/4" inside the geese, outlined the seams and started to crosshatch. The muslin was so heavy I cut the crosshatching short. It was like quilting through cardboard.
I plan to make more of these animal baby quilts.

Plaid Quilt

I have always loved plaids. Making a plaid quilt has been on my idea list for a couple decades. This is the beginning.

10" squares with the solid navy appliqued by hand. Each square is different - primarily plaids with a few stripes. Color ranges in blues, maroons and dark tans.

Not sure yet how big this project will be. I'll go until I run out of fabric. It will probably be lap size.

Progress with Rob's creation

During a few days off from my day job, I worked on adding more layers to this wall hanging. The white horseshoe crabs will have black eyes and shell details.

The center quilting has begun with ditch and 1/4" lines quilting. The dark blue will have wave quilting lines.

The only layer left to add is a ring of sail boats on the dark blue ring.

Fish baby quilt top

Another quilt top finished and waiting for autumn weather quilting. Quilting lines will be clam shell design to look like ocean waves on the aqua. Fish will be quilted in the ditch and scale designs on fish.

Each of the four large fish is being followed by three or four smaller fish.

Tee-shirt quilt

This is the third tee-shirt quilt I've made. It is tied in each corner and quilted in the sashing and border. There is 25 tee shirt squares. The mottled batik tan border was added to give height (the owner is over 6'). It is quilted with cross hatching.
Batting used is cotton. This is a very heavy quilt.
It is finished with a month to spare.

Color in the garden

Finally some color in the garden.
After what seems like weeks of rain, the day lilies are blooming. This garden has a yellow/ pink/ white palette. I'm considering removing the coneflowers to the back purple/blue garden.
No rain forecast for today. I'll be weeding, removing thousands of slugs and snails, and generally helping that beaten down look of the gardens.

Signature quilt

One of my favorite gifts to give is a signature quilt. The cream rectangles are ready for people to sign.
Through the years I have made them for events like baby showers and retirement parties.
This piece is hand quilted in the ditch with 1/4" quilting also in the cream rectangles and cornerstones. Its size is 42" x 60"

Golden Eagles in progress

Three years ago I joined Keepsake Quilting's Gold Membership. Apart from the coupons, etc. I received many 10" squares of gold fabrics. I have never been a fan of gold fabric, but with each years' membership the pile of 10" squares was adding up. A few years ago I received the medium blue bamboo floral with a touch of gold.

Slowly, I've been putting this together. I started with the flying geese and bamboo print. The first set of rectangle/square borders were made with left overs after cutting the flying geese. One or two more borders are needed for a twin size quilt.

The time I have spent with this piece, the more I admire and like working with the gold fabric. I'm actually looking forward to my next gold membership renewal in November.

Fabrics for Fish

While working on LD's Hibiscus I was reminded of my wish (from 1993) to do a series of pieces using the soft colors of Bermuda. Not my usual colors. I have collected some soft aquas, blues and yellows through the years.
This first project will be a baby quilt . Soft Aqua watery background with bold jeweled tone fish.
I spent 6/30 making 40+ fish.

Theresa's Scrap Pinwheel

This winter/spring I hand quilted two pinwheels for Theresa Gagne - the Patchwork Boutique Lady who had a quilt shop in Saco, Maine for over 20 years.

This one has each pinwheel done in a different medium or dark fabric, unbleached muslin is the background. Each pinwheel was quilted in the ditch and also 1/4" inside the pinwheel. The threads matched each pinwheel .

The other quilt was also a scrap with a solid navy background. It had a totally different look.

What a difference a month makes

There has been a lot of growth during the last month, but not much color.

Squeaky can not resist a freshly ironed quilt top

Leaves
This project started with the batik print which is a leaf print. I really enjoyed the Robbing Peter to Pay Paul applique work.
I started with batik and the three solids and just kept working until I was closed to being out of fabric. I have enough blue for binding. It has turned out to be 62"x62". A nice size for the back of a sofa.
The longer I worked on this top the colors reminded me more of sea glass than foliage.
To be quilted in the autumn.

Hibiscus complete

This is the top one-third of the Hibiscus wall hanging. It was finished recently and sent to its designer. I was told the piece is hanging in an eye doctor's office in Southern Maine.

The free hand echo quilting shows well on the blue background and black border. The lines of stitches are 1/4 inch apart.

Variegated thread

I tried something new on this customer quilt. Along with the supplies she sent, there were two spools of variegated thread.

My echo quilting has always been done with thread that closely matches the fabric. This variegated thread was so lovely I decided to showcase the thread. Each heart is outlined with a stitch in the ditch done with a matching cream thread. About a 1/2" outside the heart, two rows of quilting is done with the coral/peach thread 1/4 " apart.

I would use variegated thread again, especially on white or off white.

Windswept I

Thread Play

Quilting can be more then anchoring three layers of fabric together.
This hibiscus is a piece of another stunning wall hanging by LD. The quilting lines outline each flower (and in time each leaf) in hopes of making each flower pop. Then each petal is outlined. The flow and direction of the petals are emphasized with fuchsia thread free hand quilting.

Windswept III

Windswept I and II were done with only metallic thread quilting around the blue on blue leaves. Windswept III is a much smaller project (6"x7") and has no blue on blue leaves.

As an experiment I did all the echo quilting in the blue/silver metallic thread. Thank goodness this was a very small project. There was a lot of thread breakage (sometimes every 6 inches). So much stopping and starting. I won't try this again. Any metallic thread I would use for a project, I would try out first on a small accent piece.

Gardens in May

My gardens have always been an inspiration for my quilting.

These pictures were taken Mother's Day. The back yard has no color yet. It will be full of vegetables in raised beds. The left side perennial garden is full of blues, purples, whites.The front cottage perennial garden has past the daffodil days and now is waiting for June. The color theme is yellow, pink and white. Today I added more perennials - yellow lupines, kelways, pink dianthus, mixed coral belles with lime green foliage, lemon balm for scent. Also planted a front door basket of yellow African daises, yellow million bells with a a airy white and green foliage.

Growing leaves

There are so many things about this project that I love. It is an ideal warm weather project. Instead of my being draped in three layers of fabric on a warm day, each 8" square is hand appliqued. I am machine sewing strips together. It is portable. Each square of the batik has different colorings. When I want a mindless project, it's there.

The beige appliques are the center of the piece. Once the medium blue rows are complete, I make a decision about where to go next - repeat the beige or aqua? borders?

Windswept I

This is one of my all time favorite projects. This is another design by LD.
Silk panel 15" wide. Soft gray narrow cotton border. All gray, pink and yellow outlined in matching threads. Indigo flowers outlined with metallic/navy thread. The remainder is 1/4" echo quilting in navy. Border quilted with gray 1/4" concentric rectangles.
I found that silk thread on silk fabric is slippery work.
Windswept I is the largest of the series.

Beginning of Leaves

Most of my work is client quilting and repairs. This is a rare example of a start to finish quilt done by me. I hand quilted a beautiful Robbing Peter to pay Paul customer quilt this January. As I worked on it, I admired the applique construction instead of curved seams. Every time I went to my fabric stash I was thinking about st arting one with this applique technique. I came across this green/teal/beige leaf batik and thought of a friend I wanted to make a quilt for.



This is the center of the quilt. I will be working out from this center changing the applique piece colors.

Interrupted Rail Fence

Interrupted Rail Fence



Size: 40" x 48" Baby quilt

Yellow, blue, white

Butterfly quilted in center of white blocks

Backing fabric blue & yellow butterfly print



This project started as a stash buster to use up many small print fabrics

Rob's creation in progress #1

A few years ago my brother-in-law, Rob, designed a queen size quilt for me to make to be auctioned in Chatham MA. The auction quilt was a huge success.

This 45" square wall hanging is a replica of his original design to be given to him next Christmas.

Construction is done with layers appliqued on a base fabric.

Lorayne's LH in progress

Lorayne's design, applique and work is so lovely, it is a joy to quilt.

Asian inspired appliqued wallhanging

Purples, cream, pinks



Quilting outlines all applique, three circles surrounded by 1/4" echo quilting

pink single Irish chain

Single Irish Chain

45"x60"

Pink, white, yellow floral print

white

soft pink batik

backing fabric soft pink batik

machine pieced, hand quilted

made during autumn 2007