Carolyn's Circles and Squares

 This quilt went home to Carolyn the other day. She called it Circles and Squares...for obvious reasons.

I had just gotten a new ruler from Jamie Wallen at Quilter's Apothecary and with Carolyn's permission, did a little playing with her border.  The ruler is called the Mystical Arch and does individual scallops. I have another ruler that is similar, but it requires taking the quilt off the frame and turning it to complete the side borders. If you have a longarm, you know not only what a challenge that can be, but also the extra time involved. With this ruler, you go across the top and down the sides as you go. The only prep required is marking the middle of the border.

This shows the simple design in the border using those rulers. Note the center scallop is a different shape--that's the one in the middle. Unless you're extremely lucky (something I'm not), the center one will always be a bit wonky. However, since it is in the center, its a "design element," not a mistake!!

                        

When I first began quilting, I knew some of the things I wanted to do, but not all.  For instance, I knew I wanted feathers in the green polka dots around the nine-patch and a double CC in the nine-patch. I left those floral, inner square shapes empty as I couldn't decide what to do. I decided on the feather motif originating from different angles, but I knew that wouldn't really fill the space. So I opted for an outline of sorts to make the shape stand out.  Imagine my surprise when this, too, turned into a "design element," albeit an accidental one!!  This made those circles just pop!!! I love how they turned out.

And what post would be complete without a couple shots of the back??

Thanks for having a look!

Dory

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their day!!

Dory

60th Anniversary Quilt

Joyce made this beautiful signature block quilt for her parents to celebrate their 60 years of marriage.

During the celebration for their anniversary, everyone signed a block. Its a lovely keepsake for her parents and will remind them of this party for years to come. 

This will be a special block for them! Joyce asked that I not quilt in the signature bits, so I outlined the frames with "e's" and "l's" and did a little loopy CC in the triangles. 

This signature block didn't have a signature...it was just begging for a feather.

Wish I could have been there to see her parents' faces when they saw this quilt. I know they'll cherish it.

Dory

Gina's Table Runner

Karen, of Karen's Quilt Shop in Sequim, is such a great lady. She's always referring wonderful people to me that are new to quilting. Gina is one of those people.

She brought me this table runner that she made for a good friend.  I think she did a great job adding interest with some different fabrics. I tried to do the same, quilting a large water meander in the main body with the whales and some denser quilting in the separate design areas to make them stand out.

The back has blocks that represent land, water and sun. A neat addition that makes it double-sided!

It was a good first project for her and when I dropped it off, she sent me away with two quilts for her grandsons!

Dory

Claudia's Buggy Quilts

Nope, not buggy as in "horse and," but buggy as in "insects"!!

Claudia made two of these quilts for her grandkids. They are boys and they love bugs and fish.

These quilts are especially long so that the top "bugs in the jar" bit can go over the pillows. Plus, she's expecting, based on their parents, these guys to really grow!  I quilted the top portion to try to give some movement to the bugs.

If you look closely, you can see little "flight" paths for the insects!

I kept the body of the quilt more simple. A water meander with the fish and crosshatching for the sashing. 

Hope the boys enjoy them! Grandma did a great job.

Dory