CATCHING UP

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

I've just received a shipment of TWENTY SIX new pantographs!!!
There's something for every occasion, from flames to Kandinsky, monkeys to modern. Photos of each will be added to the "Finish YOUR Quilts" page as soon as possible.

Twenty six new pantos!
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Quilts, Fresh off the Frame!

This sweet, hand-appliqued tablecloth was a UFO from deep in the recesses of a closet. Its owner requested custom quilting that would finish the job, but not cost the earth.

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Quilting quickly meant no ditch-stitching. Instead I used motifs that would reach out to the seams and secure them.

A UFO no more!
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I've discovered that I, personally, love how crisp things look when blocks are stitched-in-the-ditch. I had a hard time letting this out of the studio without it!

Ah, well. It's very pretty, and a UFO no more. Mission accomplished!


Next, a quick charity quilt with minky on the back, and no batting. This quilt has wonderful drape and will be very cuddly and loved, I'm sure.

Shonna's charity quilt.
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A gigantic scrappy quilt (laughingly dubbed "The Beast" by its owner!) was next.

"The Beast"
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For the first time, EVER, I had to move my dining room furniture out of the way in order to trim a quilt!!!

Trimming The Beast
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I hope the lucky recipient of this gift will appreciate the work that went into its piecing - my gosh!!!

That'salottapiecing!
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And, who doesn't love a gorgeous wedding quilt? What a lucky Bride and Groom (to be)!!!

Wedding quilt
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Here is the back of the wedding quilt - I love that the label was embroidered and then pieced right in.

Label pieced into the backing
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And, finally, a sweet, modern baby quilt featuring one of my new pantographs! This one has some sort of plush backing similar to minky, but with a much deeper pile. It was layered using a polyester batting, so the quilting really pops!

Modern Twist panto
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The owner also had a super-cool label embroidered onto the backing fabric before bringing it to me.  I can only show a glimpse of it to give you an idea - it details all of the baby's birth information, including how long he was, his weight, time and date of birth, and his full name. Such a clever idea!!!

Clever label
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The plush backing will be folded to the front for finishing, so I was careful to keep my stitching inside the confines of the quilt top. Stitching right off the edge would have made things look messy.

The backing and batting are both very slippery, so each start and stop was back stitched so the quilting won't come undone during finishing. To make things even easier for my client, I trimmed away the excess batting from around the top. Now she can go ahead and bind without any extra fuss.

Quilting confined and secured, basting pulled, batting trimmed
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Again, to keep the edges mess-free, I pulled the basting stitches out after quilting. I also trimmed any "skip stitches" (front and back) that were created around the edges where I "jumped" to the next spot rather than quilting across as I normally would. (Regular bindings hide a multitude of sins!) Removing these long stitches is especially important on a baby quilt.

Skip stitches
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Attention to these details is crucial when a client plans to use the "self-binding" method. I would hate to have a thready mess wrapped to the front of the quilt!!!


My clients have been incredibly understanding about my crazy schedule. Happily, I can finally say . . . if you are waiting for a quilt, please know that it won't be long now!

Chocolate tomato plant in bloom
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No time to visit other blogs means no linking up with the usual fun parties . . . I take my responsibilities as a participant seriously.

This week is no different, so no parties again. I'm hoping to catch up with my blogging friends in the very near future. Right now, though, it's catch up time around here - in the studio, the garden, with the housework, and with planning ahead for upcoming teaching gigs and trips.

Did I mention it's only TWO WEEKS until I leave for Quilter's Affair in Sisters??? Exciting!!!

Though he has elected to stay home this year, my husband and I went together last year and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. To see what we got up to, please click here!

If you'd like to see more about the classes I took last year, please click here and here.

Okay, this post is getting longer and longer. Guess that's what happens when I'm silent for too long! I hope you are all having happy and productive days, too!

Try, Learn & Grow!
Carole
P.S. Thank you for hanging in with me, my friends! I appreciate everything you lovely, kind, generous people have to say. Your words often warm my heart and uplift my spirit. :-)