My Quilts that aren't Quilted (Super Pic Heavy)

This is a post of a different color--get it??  Like horse of a different color. Okay, I'm trying to be funny, but its not really working.  Nevermind!!

This post will have a pic of all of my tops that have been finished but are not quilted. I'm doing this for my own accountability. My goal is to finish one top each month. I've even set up my longarm with zippers so that I can switch easily from customer quilt to my own. So far, so good--I've finished two this year.  This is the first one:

Yes, I am starting small, but that's the way I paid off all my debt, too.  Its so much easier to see results on small projects! I finished that one in January; February's is almost done.

Below are all the quilts that I still need to quilt. Of course, the many UFO's are not included, but will be added to the list as they're done. If you see anything that speaks to you or that you feel deserves custom quilting, let me know. For the most part, many of these quilt do not have homes. Want one??

First up is Frieda. I'm quilting her next; just picked up the backing. Isn't she cute???

These next two are baby quilts. I had people in mind for them with new babies, but I don't love them so I didn't finish them.

I do sort of like this one. Blow it up and look at the fussy but blocks. Its pretty cute with all the zoo critters.

 This is a Mystery from the Cabin Fever Quilters. I finished it, I like it, but it went in the "to be quilted" with all the many others.

This one is just a mistake. Its what happens when you don't read directions correctly. I keep thinking I could quilt the heck out of it with colored threads, then I wonder if I really want to??

 I fell in love with these fabrics...this is the result.

 Another Mystery from my guild.

 These next two are the same quilt. I really like them both. The first is Christmas and I really should finish it so I'd have a Christmas quilt that could be displayed.

 I made this one with Cherrywood fabrics. They're both pretty large tops.

 This is a very small table topper--I have no idea why I made this one.

 This may have been a kit that I made at a retreat...I'm really not sure. (I think that's a consequence of having so many tops that need quilting [sigh].)

 This is one of my favorites. Its from Buggy Barn and its big. Those blocks are probably 12 x 14.

 Another guild Mystery. This one turned out pretty cool.

 Another Buggy Barn. I had great hopes for it--not so much any more.

 Have you heard of the Five Yard Quilt? This is one of those. Five yards of fabric and you have a lap-sized top.

 This one I love. Its from a Jan Krentz class at Asilomar. I'm almost afraid to quilt it--I don't want to ruin it. But I have ideas. I think this will be my March project.

 Aren't these houses cute? This is just a tiny top, but I love houses.

 I made this one for Dennis' boat. Maybe I'll finish it before he sells the boat!

 I made this as a wedding gift; I never gave it to them. Its huge!!

 Table topper for Christmas???

 This one is called Homesteader's Daughter, if I'm remembering it correctly. I loved this quilt when I made it and I still like it. Its a bit larger than lap-sized and has so many great areas for quilting.

 Another wedding gift that never got gifted. I made it for some friends that got married several years ago; then decided they were too young to want a wedding ring quilt. Into the stack it went.

 Got a little crazy with the fabrics for this one!

 Colors got better here.

 Another Five Yard Quilt.

 I saw this quilt and had to make it . If you blow it up, you can see the wild African animals in the border. Africa has been on my bucket list for years...

 Olivia....need I say more?

 Super tiny silly flower quilt.

 You can't really tell from the photo, but this quilt is a round tree skirt.

 And this one is called City Lights, I think. I'm not even sure which way is up!

 And, finally, my sewology top. You saw my sister's last week. They're identical.

Okay, if you made it to the end, you get a prize. Not sure what that prize is, but you certainly deserve it for hanging in there!!

Dory

Sewology for Christmas

I have two sisters, one of which is a quilter. We often get together at least once a year for some quilting and quilt shop shopping. This year I decided to surprise her at Christmas with a quilt. Of course, I decided this in October--I work better under pressure. *grin

I was surfing around on the internet and came across the Sewology BOM; however, lucky for me, all the blocks had already been released. I printed the pattern and to make finishing this by Christmas even more challenging, I decided to make two! One for my sis to have for her "quilting condo" and one for my sewing room.

I did some searching on the Internet to see what fabric combos others had used and opted for Grunge fabrics for mine. It was really fun to put together, although it was absolutely HUGE by the time I was done. I did do a bit of "fudging"; the word "Buttons" on the button card were supposed to be applique. I do not applique. But I have a husband with a professional embroidery machine and he embroidered "Buttons" for me.

Also, the "thread" in the needle was supposed to be some sort of piping? I wasn't sure what to do with that, so I just "quilted" thread.  It worked...sort of. I loved  how the iron turned out; I even have an antique one that is very similar to this one.

Can you spot the mistake in my quilting here? Have a good look at the sewing machine above and the back of it below. I'm hoping it takes you awhile. My sis hasn't mentioned a thing...so far!

Here are a few more pics of the back:

 Why is it you can look at something a million times and not see it until you've packaged it up and sent it off.  Yep--I missed a spot. Can you see it? Upper left button--I missed a bit of SID in the orange.

And here's a pic of the whole back:

Lessons learned from this quilt? There were a few. The main one being that when I quilt mine, I will not do a gridded background. Marking it took forever!!!! However, for the most part, it was a really fun quilt to put together and to quilt. I'm liking quilting for myself--it does take the pressure off.

Thanks for looking! (I'll post mine when its finally quilted)

Dory

Becky's Bicycle Quilt

In 2017, the Quincy Crazy Quilters retreat theme was Laura Heine. Laura does all those great collage quilt patterns. I chose to do Frieda the Fox; Becky chose the bicycle (a pattern that's no longer available). During the retreat she kept asking me how I would quilt it. Then at the 2018 retreat, she brought it with her and I got to bring it home!

Quilting this was challenging. Most of these quilts tend to  have just straight line quilting, something Becky could have easily done herself. I knew she was expecting more, so I did some playing in the background. I first decided to make some alternate focal points with "frames" around the hummingbirds, butterflies, and the plants at the bottom.

After that, it was just a matter of accenting the wheels, bike bits, and background. I did discover that stitching over the "appliqued" fabrics took slowing way down and cleaning the needle--a lot. The Steam-A-Seam was quite "gummy."

 

Here are a few pics of the back. Becky sent the quilt with one backing fabric and then decided she wanted me to pic another that would allow the quilting to show. As you can see, I did multiple designs in the background to keep it interesting and fun.

Thanks for looking!

Dory