Bubbles & Blooms.....Ready to Bind

The machine quilting is completed

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The quilt is trimmed and ready for binding

The feathered border quilting is done with light lavender thread

Then I went in with orange thread and hyper quilted inside the feathers

I learned to hyper-quilt from Patsy Thompson DVD's

Auditioning variegated pink fabric for the binding???

Pink & White glads beginning to bloom behind the Thread Shed.

Orange Dinner plate Dahlia

Bright Pink Spider Dahlia

Lollipop Lily

Very Bright Pink State Fair Zinnia

Bumble Bee on Pink Spider Dahlia

The Bubbles & Blooms quilt is the last large quilt I need to complete for the September exhibit. Tomorrow I will finish up the binding...then move on to a few journal quilts that need some work. I am looking forward to working small for awhile.

p.s. To see more Bubbles & Blooms Click HERE

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE

Quilting & Blooms

Quilting and 105 degree Weather...

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We have had temperatures over 100 degrees this week.

Rare for the Coastal Mountain Range of Western Oregon.

I have spent a few mornings quilting at 5am to beat the heat of the day.

This is the last of the 3 BIG flowers to be machine quilted.

I couldn't resist putting some hot pink thread on those black flower petals.

It has cooled down today, so I am hoping to get a few hours of quilting in tonight, maybe even finish this quilt...

Monday I found this star shaped metal gear in a thrift store...

I am becoming obsessed with all things RUSTY.

Tuesday I put the metal star onto some fabric soaked in vinegar, along with a few horse shoes from Dancer & Freckles....the start of a new rust dye piece.

I scraped out the rust from the bottom of Brad's tool box and sprinkled it across the the fabric to add a bit more rust. It is covered up with plastic to keep it moist. I will check it in a few days to see how the rust is transferring to the fabric.

I can dry a load of laundry in an hour in 105 degree temperature!

The new flowerbed behind the house is full of these gorgeous glads

Just love the yellow centers in these pink glads.

Suzy spent the night at the doctor last night.

She had minor surgery.

We brought her home today.

She is recovering nicely.

Black Hollyhocks

Love those star shaped centers!

Hens & Hollyhocks

Pink State Fair Zinnia

This image is a quilt.....waiting to happen!

How fun to do some threadplay on those petals and center.

Star Lily

Yellow with Red Freckles

Dinner plate Dahlia

Yellow with Red Stripes

Dinner plate Dahlia Bud

Just beginning to bloom...

Sweet Peas Blooming

As always, feel free to use these images in your artwork. They have been downloaded at high resolution, and will print out beautifully for you. I would enjoy seeing what you create with them!

p.s. To see more flowers Click HERE

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE

Bubbles & Blooms.....Free Motion Quilting

The day began out back on the patio

Spray Basting the quilt sandwich together.

I love to spray baste.

It has made the biggest improvement in my free motion work.

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Spray basting is best outside on a hot day.

2 buffet tables pushed together is the perfect work surface.

The adhesive is stickier when it is hot outside.

The layers stay together, and never budge!

See how flat and smooth it lays after spray basting.

Auditioning Threads for the free motion quilting

How juicy are these colors!

These are all YLI Trilobal Polyester Threads

Variegated thread.......Variations.

Very shiny and beautiful.

This is a very busy and very bright quilt.

I have chosen thread colors that will blend and not contrast.

I don't want the threads competing with the fabrics or design.

If you click the photo to enlarge it you may be able to see the feathered quilting around the heart petal on the flower.

I chose a yellow variegated thread for the background quilting.

It is subtle and doesn't compete with that busy fabric.

The stitching is a feather swirl thing that is fun to do!

Click to enlarge to see the quilting stitches

This is heavily quilted over all the pieced seams.

This will help to make the quilt durable so my Sister can snuggle under it and use it for many years to come.

8pm....time to close the door on the Thread Shed and finish the quilting another day.

Speaking of Bubbles...

There was a bubble machine at my sister's wedding last night!

6 girls in my family.

This is me with my sister, Tinker.

She taught me to ride a bike, listen to Elton John songs, and take art classes in school.

Tree Lily

The stem is over 6 feet tall

State Fair Orange Zinnia

These grew from seeds in the kitchen window.

Day Lily

The lighting this evening was just perfect for taking photos of the flowers.

This is the flowerbed just outside the front door.

These flowers lure me out of the Thread Shed each evening...

along with a hungry husband and 2 dogs that need attention.

It is good to be needed.

p.s. To see more Bubbles & Blooms Click HERE

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE

Bubbles & Blooms.....Design Work Done

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I decided on the lime green fabric for borders.

It is cut and pinned and ready to sew onto the quilt top.

This is the summer-time view out the Thread Shed Window

Dinner Plate Dahlias

Bubbles & Blooms Quilt Top

I decided to go with the lime green instead of the dark pink variegated.

The green fabric reads as a solid from a distance, and will give me lots of quiet space for some fun free-motion quilting!

This is a birthday quilt for my sister, Sherry.

She doesn't read my blog, so she will be surprised!

Tomorrow......spray basting and machine quilting....the perfect day.

Last week I attended a workshop....we tried rust dyeing.

This piece was perfect for the buffalo applique.

This rust dye piece is wonderful with the horse applique on it.

These are both works-in-progress

Each year I find something new to ornament the flower gardens.

This year, it is these vintage metal chairs.

The chairs found a home sitting in front of the hen house.

And yes.......I am eyeing them up for rust dyeing!

Each year swallows make our patio out back their own.

The baby birdlings are becoming very active!

5pm.......I called it a day and closed up the Thread shed.

I wandered around outside in the yard with the camera.

This gorgeous butterfly was flitting around the flowerbeds.

The pink spider dahlia is the perfect contrast for the yellow butterfly!

Yesterday I took this photo of the lavender dahlia bud.

They are huge buds!

This is what the dahlia bud looked like today!

It didn't waste anytime blooming.

Dancer & Freckles saw me walking around the yard, and just had to come over to the fence for a good scratching.

I love the STAR in the center of the Hollyhock blooms.

They just illuminate and glow in the sun.

When the sun went down, I turned the water on in the flowerbeds.

The droplets on the flowers made a perfect picture.

Pink Star Lily

Water droplets on the yellow & pink spider dahlia

p.s. to see more Bubbles & Blooms Click HERE

At the end of a Perfect Day,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE