Midnight Garden Sampler

Midnight Garden Sampler

I love sampler quilts and enjoy working on them. What makes quilting them so time consuming is that each block needs it's own design, but the finished piece must work as a whole. This sampler was a mix of various shades of brown and turquoise, which made a stunning "garden."








Looking at the border, I decided the brown needed a little softening, so I used a turquoise thread and a spiked swirl pattern like a fill. The smaller inner borders I quilted as one unit in an alternating swirl pattern. I like to vary my textures so that there is both heavy and light quilting throughout the quilt. This adds more interest to the overall look and makes some parts of the quilt stand out more than others.

The blocks need some cohesion to them, so I like to use similar quilting to tie them all together. In this case, since all the centers were the same star shape and size, I quilted them with the same pattern - a combination of continuous curve and
cathedral window.

The blocks were of 3 basic styles. I used continuous curve in the triangle and square background areas (curved lines that go from point to point), swirls in other areas, and pointed ovals to look like buds in the flower areas. I hope you can see this in the blocks I have shown here.

Even though similar designs are used, each block has a different look, but the overall look of the quilt is cohesive. I always liked the way the triangular and flower areas came out.

For the background area, I wanted something tight so that the blocks would stand out, so I used a paisley fill. This swirly pattern was a nice contrast to all the points of the blocks, and allowed the block patterns to come forward. The finished quilt at the top of this post is the finished result.

Flood Quilts

The recent flooding here in Colorado left many without homes and many others with major clean up and loss. Our home was not affected, but our hearts go out to the many that were. There are many photos online, but I have included one here, just to emphasize what so many have experienced.




When I walked into Sweetheart Quilt Shop a couple of weeks ago to pick up something I was in need of, I walked out with my arms full of quilt tops that needed to be quilted. These tops were made by generous quilters who have worked to provide something special for the many victims of this flood.

Below are a couple photos of some of these quilts. The goal at Sweetheart is to obtain 500 quilts to be donated to those affected. If you have not already done so, I would encourage you to stop in to their shop to see how you can help out.

May the Lord bless each of you who so generously contributed time and resources to this project!

"Truly I say unto you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mie, even the least of them, you did it to Me." (Mathew 25:40)

My New IQ

Louise with IQ

 

I installed an IQ computer on Louise 2 weeks ago, and am learning how to use it. I have been having fun playing with my new toy.















My first task was to learn how to do edge to edge (or pantographs) with my new toy. This is my first computerized pattern that I did on a charity quilt. The quilted pattern is called double bubbles, and is a great look for all the lines of this quitl.









My next task was to figure out how to get all of my paper pantograph library onto my computer. To do this, I had to "record" my pattern - allow the computer to take what I am sewing and digitize it.
This is my first attempt at that, on another charity quilt. Since the quilt was paper dolls, I thought this pantograph pattern called "Children" was perfect for it.