Some Recent Pantographs

A view of the whole quilt.

It seems I have been doing at lot of edge to edge quilting lately. I do enjoy them because they give me a break from the intensity of the work on custom quilts. Here are some of the most recent ones:

This first quilt has a pattern called windy day which seems to give movement to those pinwheels.

Close up of the pattern

back of quilt

The next quilt is the same quilt as the first, but with the colors in the negative space reversed. This edge to edge pattern is quite swirly!




















A red, white, and blue quilt, with a block feather pattern quilted in.

This next quilt is a handkerchief quilt - I have not seen one of these before, and found it very unique. This one has an all over stipple pattern.

This Daisy Chain quilt also has an all over feather pattern.

And, last one for this blog, a charity quilt with a floral pattern quilted in.

I know it's been a while since I have updated my blog, but Dale's recovery from knee replacement surgery has been keeping me extra busy. I hope you are all doing well!

Until next time, happy quilting.

Cathy

A Traditional Wedding Ring Quilt

Traditional Quilts are Still Beautiful!

Good morning, happy quilters! I meant to get this one posted long before now, but things have been a bit hectic lately. But - I am joyful today because my God is good and He has blessed me with a new day!

The quilt as I took it off of the machine.

This quilt is one of my favorite patterns, but one I have yet to try because I know it is so difficult to do. Thankfully, others are braver than I am and willing to try!. I just love the look of a wedding ring quilt and think it is one of the most beautiful patterns out there. After quilting this one, I have become challenged, and have ordered some templates and pattern so that some day, when I get brave enough, I can try my hand at this also.

Anyway, since this is a traditional quilt, I chose a traditional quilting patterns for it. I think it came out beautifully, and I hope you enjoy checking it out!.

Pattern detail

A closer look.

Dale is going in for knee replacement next week, so it will be a while before things get back to normal around here (as though things are ever normal!) But I will still be getting in some longarm quilting whenever I can - I love my job!
 Hope to be posting again soon, but in the meantime, happy quilting everyone!
Cathy

Verse for the day: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

A Feathered Forget Me Not and Some Edge to Edge

Quilts from the Heart of the Giver

I thought I would get this out sooner, but, alas, one thing after another it seems - recovering from the flue, catching up with all those undone things that I put off until after Christmas, getting the decorations down and put away, and then, just to add to the fun, car issues! Life is always an adventure, and all the downs help us to be so much more appreciative of the ups!

It is always such a joy to me to see what some of you put so much time, money, and effort into, and then give to a loved one. This type of gift says so much about the heart of the giver, and you all have such generous and giving hearts!

The last of my "must be done for Christmas" quilts was this Pam Bono design, called "Forget Me Not". If you like feathers, this one has just a few. I knew I would have to break down those large while areas somehow, and decided to curl the feathers around the bow and ribbon. I first drew semi-circles where I wanted the curls to be, then worked out how I wanted to connect them. I included some swirls to add a little interest and fill in some of the odd
spaces.

I continued this theme in the large periwinkle and white center triangles, using a feather curved to the triangle, with some ribbons and swirls. For the dark green and navy triangles, a crosshatch pattern was used to create a trellis look.

The pansies, ribbons, and leaves were simply given their natural character. The narrow borders received a ribbon look, and the navy area around the pansies were also feathered.

A couple of other gifts from the heart included some edge to edge quilts. This first one is called "Evening Mist," and is quilted with an all over feather pattern.

This cute and colorful children's quilt has a teddy bear all over pattern.

And this wild, colorful block quilt has and all over star pattern. This one is a two-sided quilt, with bold colors on one side and more pastel blocks on the other.

That concludes the last of the December quilts. I am now working on a traditional wedding ring quilt, which I hope to show you soon! I wish each of you a blessed New Year. Until next time, happy quilting!
Cathy

Verse for the day: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities." (Psalm 103:2-3)

Winter Snow Friends

Merry Christmas!

I am happy to say that my last "must be done for Christmas" quilt went out the door last week - I definitely breathed a sigh of relief! However, since then, my husband and I have had a visit from that nasty flu virus that is being passed around - would have preferred he did not share this one with me! Oh well, we are on the mend, and are thankful that our bodies are so wonderfully made that they have the ability to fight such awful stuff!

I have a number of quilts that need to get put on this blog, but for now, I will settle on this cute little winter appliqued wall hanging called "Winter Snow Friends".

The many 1/2 sq. triangles were quilted with continuous curve and holly leaves. The appliqued portions were mainly stitched around, but a few of the figures required additional stitching to make them lay flat.

I used a variety of backgrounds -  feathers, swirls, snowflakes, loops, and stipple - to add interest and to flow with the pattern. This is just a happy quilt, and it brings a smile to my face!

That's it for today - I just wanted to make sure you had a Christmas quilt to check out. (If  you want to check out another Christmas applique, Dec. 2013 has AJ's stunning Merry Christmas quilt.) I will be adding more quilts very shortly, but company is coming - I must get some baking done!

May each of you enjoy a very blessed Christmas, and may you enjoy, blessed, and be challenged by all He has in store for you in the coming year!

Cathy

Verse for the day: "Your adornment must not be merely external - braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:3-4)

Red, White and Black Bandanna Quilt

Left This Out!

What can I say - I was in such a hurry with my last post that I left this out - now you know how feeble my mind is!

This one was quilted with a feather panto using red thread - sounds a bit bold, but the end look of it is fabulous. Sometimes dramatic is the way to go!

Until next time, Happy Quilting!
Cathy

Blackford's Beauty & a Red/ Black Bandana Quilt

Crunch Time!

With the Christmas holiday quickly approaching, I am becoming more and more aware of the many quilts there are still hanging in my closet awaiting their completion!

Some quilts just seem to take me a lot longer than I anticipate once I get going on them, and that certainly did apply to this quilt, called Blackford's Beauty in Plaids, but I love the way it came out.

This was one of those with a lot of white space, so I had to use the "divide and conquer" method, quilting a diamond pattern to separate different quilting spaces. Since feathers were used in the  border, the plaid stars, and the pinwheels, they were also put into the diamond area for continuity. A flame fill pattern was used in the center, and a more dense clam-shell fill used in the remainder of the space.

That's it for now - have to get back to quilting! Hope you all enjoyed a very blessed Thanksgiving - we have so much to be thankful for.

Until next time, Happy Quilting!

Cathy

Verse for the day: "Daniel said, "Let the Name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to h\Him." (Daniel 2:20)

Bears, Santas, and a Sampler

The Holiday Rush is Here!

At this time of year, I always have a hard time keeping up, but so much more so with only one useful hand! I am doing much better - got my pink hard cast off last week, and am now in a splint - but I did have to slow down a bit. I have more wrist exercises to do than I can keep up with - 3 times/day at that! The swelling has gone down considerably, and I can now handle my bobbin without fumbling it!


I am a bit behind on both my quilting and my blog posts, so I thought I would try to catch up with a quick summary.

 I don't see embroidered quilts very often, but recently had 2 to quilt. The first one is an Alphabet ABC Bear cross stitch quilt that will someday go to a great grandchild. This is a really cute little quilt, and it was joyful to work on.

Because I don't think it a good idea to go over most hand stitching,  I echoed around the bears, words, and letters out to the edge. The sashings and inner border have loops with stars in the cornerstones. Teddy bears were quilted into the border.























The second quilt is all about Christmas. The treatment is similar, with echoing around the embroidered Santa blocks, but snowflakes in the borders and sashings.

The quilt I had on the machine when I broke my wrist was this beautiful sampler. I was about half way through it, and when I came home and looked at it I couldn't help but wonder if I was going to be able to finish it! Well, as you can see, I did, and I think it came out wonderful despite my handicap.
  

This quilt had beautiful shades of teal, purple, blue, and beige in it, and I just loved these fabrics. The outer border was done in feathers with matching feather triangles.


 

For the chain blocks, I played around a bit until I came up with a fill that I thought would work. I decided on a variety of fleur de lis patterns for the sampler blocks which seemed to compliment the fabric.

Since it is hard to see the quilting with the busy patterns, I have included a photo of the back of the quilt.

Well, that's about all I can fit in for today. Hope you all have been enjoying this wonderful fall weather we have had - winter is on its way!

Until next time, happy quilting!
Cathy

Verse for the day: "The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; thou hast made summer and winter." (Psalm 74:16-17)