More Progress on Stockings and Laura's Quilt

Making more progress on my stockings.  This is one I am working on this afternoon while the baby is napping...

The last of the customer quilts for the year is being shipped off shortly...and I'm looking forward to working on some of my own projects over the holidays!  My first goal is to get these stockings finished.

This is the first stocking and to the right, the reverse side.  I decided I am going to just do all three stockings backs with feathers...and each front will be a different design.

Above is another shot of the backing of stocking one. I just can't get enough feathers I tell you!  :)

I also finished up Laura's quilt yesterday...it is a very special quilt.  I'll let her share the story on her blog...but it truly moved me to tears.  What a beautiful quilt and what beautiful friends you have Laura!

I really really love ribbons...if I get some time here in the coming weeks I'll show you how to quilt them.  They are very simple but they are so cute and sweet!  I thought they complimented the fun whimsical nature of this quilt.

So much to do and so much to say!!  I want to get in as much sewing time over the next few weeks as I can so I am going to run.  This is truly a magical time of year...I hope you all are enjoying family and preparing for the coming holidays!  :)

Heirloom Stockings

Eeep!  I broke down and decided to play this evening.  I have been wanting to make these fancy quilted heirloom style stockings for my daughters for a while.  My favorite way to quilt is just goofing around...winging it and playing as I go along.  So that's what I did.

I really like how they are coming out!  Of course after I posted pictures on Facebook I discovered I missed a spot.  Whoops!  LOL

This is two layers of batting - something I'm really really liking.  I love poofyness.  I bought a roll earlier in the year of Quilters Dream Poly Request...it is their lowest loft polyester batting.  I bought it because it is inexpensive but gives the look of cotton.  I have since learned that if I want the look of cotton...I'll just use cotton...however...polyester has some great benefits!  This batting doesn't wrinkle like cotton when folded...and layered up...it is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!  Two layers of poly request is seriously my new favorite batting!!!  :)

I pulled all these bits of lace and tatting - is it tatting??  Anyhow I pulled it out with a few linens and had originally planned to put them on the stockings...but now that I've finished quilting one...I like it so much I don't know if I want to cover it up with lace!!  LOL  So we'll see if I can figure out a way to incorporate these or not.  I am kind of thinking maybe the fancy quilting side will be the front...and I'll do a pretty floral quilted backing with bits of lace incorporated.  I definitely want beads...these are completely Cindy Needham inspired stockings!!!  :)

What are you up to?

Cindy's Quilt

Cindy's quilt finished!  I'm feeling on a roll.  :)  I'm having a good time too!  Just a handful of quilts before I'm on a break for 2013...and I can't say I'm not looking forward to it.  I have so many of my own projects on hold that I'm looking forward to working on!

Cindy's quilt made of Fig Tree Quilts fabric turned out so pretty...and I have found there is nothing that shows off quilting better than afternoon sun...

A project the Husband and I will be working on in the upcoming year will hopefully be to move my long arm over to the North facing wall of this room so I will have the sunnier areas for photography!!!  I'm looking forward to that...

We went with simpler quilting for this quilt - though I adore feathers - simply because of all the busy prints and I knew anything more complicated wouldn't show.  I love this fabric and have a big bag of it partially sewn into a quilt somewhere in my sewing room!!

Cindy sent me a new batting to try out that I've never quilted on before...a nice thick cotton and it really did quilt up lovely.  VERY linty though, as with all cottons, but this quilt is going to keep somebody very warm!  Good thing with winter just around the corner.

This week I'll be loading up and finishing another of Laura's quilts!  :)

Monica's Quilt #2

Monica's quilt (#2) is finished!!  Woohee!!  Everyone has ooooh'ed and awwwww'ed over this quilt (including me) and I am pretty sure I'm going to have to make one of these.  Gorgeous!

Now she's all set for spring and winter!  :)  Just a few more weeks until Thanksgiving!!  :)

Monica's Quilt #1

Wheeeew!  Have you been busy?  I sure have!  This time of year is always extremely busy for us as we have a large family, but other things have been happening so it just keeps me running.  I'm a tad behind schedule what with Halloween and school events so I'll update that today.  I did finish Monica's first quilt this past week and will be spending most of the day working on her second today.

Right about 5 inches from being finished with this quilt - my motor brushes went!!!  Oh was that a scary thing!  Quilt on the frame and all I had to pull the motor off of my machine, open it up, and replace the brushes.  Luckily after putting it all back together things seem to be back to normal...so back to work!  :)

I have to say - I cried that day!!  I think lack of sleep played a role but I've since had a few good nights rest and am ready to face all challenges!!!  LOL  :)  Hope all is well out there in blogland and that you've had some time to sew!

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Art Quilt Entry

I have been so busy with life and machine quilting lately that I am sort of last minute putting a quilt in the Blogger's Quilt Festival!  I haven't finished a ton of quilts this year (amazingly!) because I've been quilting for others...but I did get on an art quilt bent for a while there and made this incredibly meaningful airbrushed Susan Shie inspired art quilt.

This quilt has been so meaningful to me as it truly marked a turning point in my quilting philosophy.  Yes, I have a quilting philosophy!  LOL  My life is creatively driven so each endeavor I take on is monumental!  :)

I created this quilt with just a piece of bleached white muslin, and I first drew on it freehand with fabric markers.  Nothing fancy, just a Micron Pigma pen and this no-brand black Fabric marker from Jo Ann Fabrics.

This was the new to me fun experiment (that has me obsessed too) - AIRBRUSH!  I used Dye-na-Flow paints to airbrush in the color on my quilt.

Then no quilt is truly a quilt without the quilting.  This was quilted on my little domestic sewing machine.

The bloggers quilt festival is an awesome way for quilters to connect and share - I do hope you'll check it out!  ;)

A Peek at Monica's Quilt and Happenings Here at Home

Wheew it's been a busy weekend!  I'll tell you more about it but first, let me share a peek at Monica's quilt, currently on the frame...

I'm moving along pretty swiftly so I anticipate having this finished today or tomorrow...and she has sent me a second that I'll be working on for the remainder of the week.

It's been quite an eventful weekend however - more going on than I can even get into here!  My blogging pal Doreen from Treadlemusic happened to be in the area on Sunday (well she and her Husband drove out special just to meet up!) and we had a nice visit!  My Mom tagged along with me making it extra special as she knows I love to blog and I often talk about some of the interesting people I've communicated with or come into connection with through blogging.  Doreen and her Husband Tom were no exception, with a great story to tell of their travels (you'll have to look forward to that on her blog!) and the people they've met along the way.  We could have stayed and chatted all day but I did have three little girls at home anxiously awaiting trick or treat!

Here's a photo (below) of me, my Mom in the middle, and Doreen to the right...of course I was talking...not unusual for me!!!!  :)  It was a fun visit and it was really wonderful to put a face to the name as we have been chatting for around a year now.  Doreen has been one of the great cheerleaders supporting me along the way here as I embark on a machine quilting career.  Words are powerful and that support means more than you can know!  :)

In other news, shortly after returning from trick or treating that night we discovered our water heater had gone...not fun!!!  So  pretty much all day yesterday was taken up by running errands and getting that new water heater put in.  My Husband is no less than a super hero as the VERY next day he had someone here and getting the job done.  Amazing!

What an eventful and hectic weekend...it was fun and a little scary too - but now on to the quilts!  :)