Saturday, December 31, 2011

Thread, Thread, Thread and more Thread!!

I love thread, lots of thread, all kinds of thread. And if you think about it, we could not do what we do without it. It is the mortar of our quilts, our clothes, and pretty much everything!

It is so important to use good quality thread and not the thread left over from your great grandma's basket (unless it is from this era). If you have any of that very old thread from years ago, use it for decor. I do!!

My favorite threads to use at the moment are:

YLI Silk 100wt for machine quilting, love it!
Superior Threads-Masterpiece Cotton 50wt 2 ply for piecing and hand applique, love that too!!

I bought Masterpiece 50wt 2 ply prewound bobbins from Connecting Threads that came in a bobbin case for my hand applique. Great product. It is so easy to have my thread with me wherever I find myself appliqueing. The bobbins stay put and organized and the colors are perfect.

If you would like to learn more about thread, check out my friends blog, Threadmongers. She is listed in my blog list. Judy, aka Threadmonger, sells fabulous thread and has a wealth of information on all kinds of thread types. Judy came down to our quilt guilds meeting (Santiam Scrappers Quilt Guild) one month and gave us an excellent lesson on the different types of threads available and the uses for each and then gave us the opportunity to purchase. That was a really fun night!!

The types of needles we use with the different types of thread are also very important, but that will be another posting :^)

Happy Quilting/Keep those needles sharp!!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Painted Feathers

This is the finished product of my experimentation with painting quilted feathers!

One of the women in my guild was painting her quilts and using fabric colored pencils on completed quilts. I decided to try it too but I didn't have any colored pencils, just a lot of fabric paints. So this is how I did it!!
 I started with a finished small quilt. All the quilting was done as well as the binding and the hanging sleeve attached. The paint I used is called Lumiere which I purchased from Dharma. (I love their products and the company. I purchase my fabric to dye, my dyes and fabric paints from them. Their site is listed here on my blog. They are "Good People"!! :^) Prior to painting, I shook the jar well and used the paint from the lid. I kept the jar covered with aluminum foil and far enough away from me so it didn't get knocked to the floor.

It's important to read the directions that comes with the paint you decide to use to learn how to prepare the fabric before it is painted on and how to set the paint afterwards.
I used two paint brushes, one fine point and one beveled edge. When not using them, I would keep them in a plastic zip-lock to keep them from drying out. When done for the moment or for the day, I washed them well and let them air dry.


I outlined each feather first with the fine point brush.
Once the outline was done, I filled in using the beveled edge paint brush.




And again, the finished product! It was fun to do and I will do more!! It gives the quilt a very different look.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Celtic Christmas
I wanted to share a couple of Christmas quilts I made a while back. This first one is a celtic design. I came up with the design method and construction after reading a couple of quilt books and being unable to follow their instructions!!!!
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  The next quilt is a little one, hand appliqued, designed by Nancy Chong I believe.Enjoy the Christmas sights and Merry Christmas to all :^)...

Sunday, December 18, 2011

"More Amazing Quilted Photography"

This is a quilt I made from the book, "More Amazing Quilted Photography" by Tammie Bowser. The book comes with the program and instructions on how to take a photo and turn it into a quilt. It is a really fun process.

This quilt of Josh shows him in kindergarten and at his graduation ceremony when he received his Masters in Education. I used half inch squares and ironed them onto a fusible gridded background, covered the quilt with toulle and then free motioned quilted it. This is the same way I did the quilt of Buck, the Yellow Lab. There are over 6000 1/2 inch squares in this quilt!!!

He's had this quilt rolled up in the closet for years. I think he has decided to get it out and hang it somewhere in his house. He just is a little uncomfortable displaying such a huge picture of himself. Truthfully, I never thought about it when I was making it!!! :^)


Thursday, December 15, 2011

Crazy Quilt "Go Crazy"

Go Crazy-39" X 39"
I love crazy quilts!!! Looking through the books at all the wonderful quilts made in the 1800's and early 1900's is such a joy. The colors and fabrics used were fun and the hand embroidery, wow, just amazing!!
I decided to use the embroidery stitches on my old Viking which gave me the opportunity to try out some of the wonderful metallic and silk threads I had been saving.

I had LOTS of left over fabric. Actually, I still have tons of left over fabric to make many more crazy quilts. With some of the leftovers, I made this small quilt!! It hangs in the lab of the medical office I work in, a great distraction for the patients about to have their blood drawn!  :^)

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Harley Davidsons and Quilting

Drew and Jess on a ride

Harley Davidson motorcycles have been a huge part of our family's lives for the past 21 years. The bikes themselves continually spark ideas for quilts, like the above photo!! Wouldn't that make a fabulous quilt??!!!

I made my first "Harley" quilt many years ago for my husband. As soon as the quilt was done, one of the fellas in the group my husband rides with (The Road Maggots) went down, someone in a car "didn't see him" and pulled out in front of him. He ended up in the hospital for quite awhile, so we raffled that quilt off to help the family.
So I started a second "Harley" quilt, and no sooner did I finish that one that another one of the fellas went down. That quilt got auctioned off and brought in $675.00 for the family!! Both riders survived the accidents, Thank-You Lord.
This is a photo of the second quilt!! It was probably 14 years ago that I made it with the leftover Harley Davidson logo fabric I had "found" for the first quilt.

When I had decided to make the first quilt, I had a difficult time finding any Harley Davidson fabric. Then I remembered that our son Drew had a pair of HD boxers in his drawer. So I "borrowed" them secretly.
After I got the quilt top done, I went to Drew and said," What do you think of my Harley quilt?. He loved it!! Thought it was great!!
He then got a confused look on him as he began to recognize the HD emblems from his boxers.
"Mom???"
"Yes" I replied.
"Is that my underwear?"
"Yep!! Is that cool or what?""
Well, he couldn't disagree with me because the boxers did make a very awesome quilt. And yes, the boxers were clean.  I always launder my quilt fabric before using it. :^)

One activity the group does often is go on Poker runs. I went on one this summer and had a great time. I look at it as a fun time with my husband, riding with some wonderful friends, and a fabulous photo opportunity!! Here are a few photos that I am considering for some new quilt designs!

Ritner Creek Bridge, Oregon


Can you see me?

Behind the Pack

I have so many ideas for Harley Davidson quilts and as I create them, I plan on sharing them with you.

So ride safe, take care, and keep those quilting needles sharp. Till later :^}

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Buck

This is Buck, our sons Yellow Lab. I made this quilt from a photo I had taken of him at the lake. I used the book and program, "More Amazing Quilted Photography" by Tammy Bowser. It is a very simple program that actually scans the photo on the computer and then gives you a graph based on the color values in the photo.

I ironed on all 6000+ 1/2 inch squares to a fusible, gridded backing, covered that with tulle and then machine quilted it.

It is a fairly easy process and the results are truly amazing!!