Machinations

Our guild had a "mini-class" several months ago on an easy way to make circles. Marei took it to heart; named her quilt "Machinations" and sent it to me for quilting. She likes to challenge me and make me think (she's such a brat!)

We met and talked about this quilt several times. I wanted to be sure to give her back something that she would  like. This quilt was so different, I really had to put on my thinking cap--there was actually smoke coming out my ears by the time we were done!

I used the Quiltazoid in the small and middle sized circles. In the smallest ones, I just repeated the shape and then did a spiky "leaf" treatment around them. In the larger circles, I used one of the many designs that come with the QZ.

The medium and large squares got a maze fill in white and the red parts of the quilt were quilted with a variation of a water meander in red...

And to tie it all together, I used white thread in the corner blocks and treated the border piecing as one unit, using a bamboo fill.

 

The pictures don't do it justice, but the fabric Marei used on the back was gorgeous!  I kept trying to figure out how to replace it with some random red from my stash and wondering if she'd notice. *grin*

Thanks for looking!

Dory

The Last Quilt Show Quilts

These are the last two quilts I finished in time for our quilt show. This first one was for Carolyn; she called it "Regal."

A close up:

This one was for Stephanie, another member of our guild. She bought the kit at Pacific International Quilt Show and then as she was putting it all together, she realized that the blocks were not the right sizes. She added the skinny sashing though and liked it just as well.

This quilt had so much going on, that I only needed to add some thread to hold it together. Anything else would have been overkill. I used my Quiltazoid and did a large spiral design in the big squares and some smaller designs in the setting triangles and even smaller ones in the four corners. I hadn't had an opportunity to use the QZ in such a long time; it was really a fun quilt to work on.

One of the best parts about this quilt was the back. Steph didn't have backing so asked that I just use my muslin. Look at how cool this looks from the back...

(Click on the picture above and you can really see the detail!)

A Batik Churn Dash

Marei gave me this quilt and told me to make it bright (like it really needed any help??) But, Marei likes bright, so I aimed to please.

I used the QZ with King Tut Autumn Days thread in the squares that are set on point and just did some variations of continuous curve in the other black blocks along the same row. 

In the churn dash blocks with the black centers, I used Copper Bottom Line thread. I wanted the quilting to be visible, but not compete with the  Autumn Days thread.

And a picture of the back...often the best part *wink*

Thanks for looking and remember, if you'd like to see a larger view of any of the photos, just click on it. When you're done, click the "back" button to return here.

QZ to the Rescue!!

I think its been almost a year now, but some time ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Jackie, the Volunteer Coordinator for a big quilting show. We chatted back and forth on the APQS list and I remember telling her that if she was ever interested, she could send a quilt out for me to quilt for her. Of course, I never thought she'd take me up on it--she lives halfway across the US from me!!

But...guess who called and sent me this???

And with this quilt, came cones of thread for me to sample (beautiful, bright lime green, gorgeous purples and pinks) and my very own tote-bag. Not many quilters are this spoiled--especially by a first-time customer! I'm one lucky girl!! (I took a picture of everything Jackie sent me, but can I find it...of course not!)

When I saw this quilt, my first thought was feathers...but Jackie doesn't like feathers. [How can anyone NOT like feathers????]  Immediately, the next thought was my Quiltazoid.  So I played and ended up with a QZ design in yellow on the purple squares, the same design in purple on the yellow squares and background stippling in matching the thread to the color of the block.

Looking at the photos, the design in the purple block doesn't look yellow, but it was, honest!!

 You can almost see the small design I put in the setting squares...if you squint real hard!

 This quilt was so much fun to work on.  Some quilts are fun all the way through and then give you such a feeling of accomplishment when you return them and your customer is happy.

And, finally, a shot of the entire quilt...defying gravity *grin*

Quiltazoid

Before leaving on vacation, I had several quilts to finish. My QZ arrived and I had this one that was just begging for it.  So I set up the QZ, turned on the instructional DVD that comes with, and started playing.  My customer, Norma, loved the way this one turned out. Apparently, the nine-patch blocks were made by a variety of quilters in the guild. Norma put hers together with the setting squares to make the quilt bigger and to give it some continuity. I think it worked.

Here's the overall pic after it was quilted. (Ignore the stuff stacked on the table; the hazards of sharing the studio with your husband!)

This one shows the design in the blocks...

And a better photo of the QZ designs.  I used a smaller, similar design in the setting squares.

And the corner triangles were too small for anything to fit, so I brought the meander into them from the border. 

And a photo of the back.

The Quiltazoid is such a great tool for quilts like this one with open spaces. It was developed by Adam and Linda Anderson specifically for the longarm.  It works great and its easy to use. I love it!!

Show us the QUILTS!!

Ask, and ye shall receive. Seems I've heard that somewhere before??

This is the quilt that I made for my sister's 60th birthday.  She doesn't turn 60 until September, but the plan was to go to Phoenix on July 29 for her party. The party happened, but because of dealing with family issues (mother-in-law), I just didn't feel good about leaving.  As it was, I think Dennis and I put over a 1,000 miles on the car searching for the perfect placement for her.  We finally found it.  She's at Eagle Lake Village in Susanville. If you've never seen an assisted living facility, let me tell you, they are not what you'd expect.  They are like having a room at the Ritz!  Its amazing!!

But, back to the quilt.  I made this one in a hurry (I think its called a split nine-patch?) with some charm squares I'd purchased to match the colors of my sister's house.  Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to purchase sashing at the same time.  That meant a trip to our local hardware store (yes, I said "hardware store") to look for some.  Dennis picked this out from their limited supply...what do you think?

I used Kristina's Quiltazoid (mine is on its way) to quilt the blocks and then just did feathers and some weird loopy thing in the sashing (good thing my sis isn't a quilter *chuckle*).  Lesson learned: When using the QZ, fill in some of the empty places to balance quilt density.  Unfortunately, since I was on the clock, trying to get this done before I flew out, I didn't go back and do that.




A couple pictures of the back.  I love it when the quilting shows! (okay, so you may have to click on the photo to make it larger so you can see it, but it does show...really!)

I think she'll be happy anyway.

Oh, and here's a little test for any of you that are puzzle solvers:  There's something wrong with a photo in this post--can you see it??