Half Way Done...

I have about 14 hours of machine quilting in the sunflower quilt this week.......I also filled 16 bobbins so far........used 12 different thread colors........and changed thread more times than I can count.........this is my kind of quilting and I am loving every minute of it!

I stitched for 6 hours today........here is a peek at how my day in the Thread Shed went:

Click Images to Enlarge:

I used a very dark chocolate variegated thread on this bright golden sunflower. I needed a high contrast to make a good impact on this flower.

If you click this image of the hen, you can see how great the variegated orange thread looks on her dark tail feathers...

I have found makeup brushes to work best for cleaning my machine during quilting. When I put in a new bobbin, I clean out the bobbin housing every time. It is amazing how much lint builds up. About every third bobbin, I remove the throat plate and clean all the lint out of the feed dogs.

I love these pin point oilers. They come in a 3 or 6 inch length. They oil your machine with precision....if you want exactly one drop of oil.....that is what you will get. The long oiler reaches down under and behind the feed dog area, where you normally are not able to reach for oiling. I have a Feather Weight 221, which requires regularly monthly oiling in 12 different locations.....the long pin point oiler is perfect for it. When the oilers are empty, you just refill them. Precision oiling with absolutely no oily mess on your machine.

The fabric in this sunflower contains yellow, orange and green. I used a dark orange and green variegated thread to give it the contrast it needed. If you are going to take the time to do all the threadwork.......you want it to show.

On the back of the machine is an accessory thread stand I purchased 2 years ago. It holds all kinds of thread.......large cones, small cones, stacked threads, crosswound threads, all brands of threads. Each thread, whether it is stacked or crosswound comes off the spool properly so there is no twist in the thread during high speed machine quilting. I leave all the thread spools on the stand until all the quilting is completed. They are right there when I need them, no searching around for thread.

A year ago I started using the Bendable Brite Lite.....looking back....I think I have been sewing in the dark all these years. It gives me incredible light exactly where I aim it, easy on my eyes. I even aim it at the stitching when I am ripping out a seam to see better. It is also great to check over the stitching I have just done to make sure the tension is balanced. No more sewing in the dark for me. I put one on my feather weight so I have plenty of light when I am using my travel machine.

I thought I would show you a......before......and.....after image. This is a pink sunflower before it is quilted. I just love this batik fabric.

I decided to go with a bright orange variegated thread I purchased from Patsy Thompson. If you have never been to her site click HERE

She posts the most gorgeous images of her free motion quilting!

Click this image to enlarge it and get a better look at how the orange thread enhanced this pink sunflower......it gives it such texture and dimension.

By 6pm I made it half way through the quilt.......that means from the right edge of the quilt which measures 100 inches tall..........to 50 inches into the center of the quilt. I have never done a quilt this size........I think 80 inches square was the biggest I had machine quilted myself. I have to tell you......it wasn't too bad getting 50 inches of quilt under my little Bernina. I accordion folded the quilt and pushed it under the arm of the machine as I went along. I saw Ricky Tims do that on The Quilt Show a few months back, and it works like a charm.. Thank You Ricky!

Someone else in the Thread Shed knew it was 6pm......and he was ready to quit for the day! This is Gunnr, a 2 year old boxer. He sleeps in a dog bed under my sewing machine table. He pushed his head up under the quilt laying all over my lap, and gives me a nudge when it is time to go!

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May Your Bobbin Always Be Full........especially during machine quilting,

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

Everything is Better when it is Quilted...

Here's a sneak peek...I spent the day free motion quilting on the sunflower quilt. I am using a Bernina 153 QE. Someday I would love to have a George Long Arm Machine.

Yesterday I pieced the warm & natural batting then spray basted the quilt sandwich. This is the largest quilt I have machine quilted...100 inches square.

Click Images to Enlarge:

I quilted some of the background, then started on a sunflower

I chose a pinkish-red trilobal polyester thread.

It made a good contrast to the yellow batik sunflower.

Be sure to use a thread net on cone threads, especially polyester and rayon threads, they are slippery. The netting keeps the thread in place on the cone and keeps it feeding evenly during machine quilting.

I use Sewer's Aid when machine quilting. It is a silicone that is safe for threads and fibers. It does not leave a residue or stain your fabric. I squeeze out a line of sewer's aid along the side of my thread spool, to soak into several layers of thread. It is especially helpful when you have used fusible web for applique, as well as spray basting your quilt sandwich. It keeps your needle from getting sticky.

I like Titanium sewing machine needles. They are much stronger than regular needles, stay sharper longer, and do not get hot during free motion quilting. I also use a straight stitch throat plate on the sewing machine, rather than a zig zag throat plate. I get a better stitch on the back side of the quilt with a straight stitch plate.

Free motion quilting requires a good GRIP. Textiles draw all of the moisture out of our skin while we are handling them. I am partial to Neutrogena Hand Cream. I like the clear, rather than the white cream. Just a tiny pin head of cream keeps my hands moisturized and able to move the quilt sandwich easily under the sewing machine.

I also use Bee Bar for a good GRIP. It smells wonderful. No oils to stain your quilt, and it gives you a good grip. Hold the bar in your hands for a few seconds and it will begin to melt a bit, then rub your hands together. It lasts for hours before you need to re-apply.

This is the back side of the Bee Bar container. There is a website in case you are interested in giving this a try. I have used it for years and years.

These are the very best scissors for trimming threads closely on your quilt top during free motion work. They are little and lightweight. Just squeeze them to trim the threads. No wrestling getting your fingers into regular scissors.

You can see from this side view, that the end of the scissors are curved upwards. This prevents you from cutting into your quilt top while trimming threads. Yes....I have snipped several quilt tops....BEFORE I found these great scissors.

I decided to quilt some of the leaves...so I am auditioning some green threads. I chose a mildly variegated green thread. Sometimes too much dark to light on a variegated thread can be distracting. I prefer one that doesn't have too much white in it, just a subtle change in color.

My last sunflower before I quit for the day. I used the pinkish-red thread here again on this sunflower and I like the contrast against the yellow batik.

Just creating and designing the sunflower quilt top was a pleasure, but I have to say....the machine quilting is really bringing it to life.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

Everything is Better when it is Quilted,

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

Don't Buy Retail...

It was gorgeous today. I opened the door and windows of the Thread Shed so I could see the sunshine, feel the warm breeze, hear the cattle moo-ing and smell the horses. If I couldn't be outside, then I was bringing it in with me!

I spent the day finishing up the applique' stitching on the sunflower quilt top.

Then I spent a couple more hours trimming all the stray threads off the back side of it. It is ready to be basted and machine quilted..........we have a date on Friday.

With this warm, beautiful weather my favorite sport comes to mind....thrifting.....yard sales.....second hand stores.......the sport of champions! I was raised by a mother who trained me well. Most of our home today is furnished and decorated with second hand items. I love things with character.

Click Images to Enlarge:

My friend Linda, who has walked many a mile with me hunting down second hand items, sent me this entertaining video. Click here to view ESTATE SALE

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The Yard Sale Queen,

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

Flowers Chicks & Grapes...

Monday I spent the day putting together this backing for the sunflower quilt top I completed last week. The quilt top measures 100 inches square. This backing measures 108 inches square. It is too large to see the entire backing on the design wall, so 3 feet of the bottom portion is laying on the floor. If you tip your head to the left, you can view the strips of fabric horizontally rather than vertically. I plan to sandwich the quilt together so the back is horizontal. I will keep you updated as the free-motion quilting progresses...

Click Images To Enlarge:

The iris are really putting on a show this week

The baby chicks are 6 weeks old. The barred rock peeps are all feathered out with their black and white poke-a-dots. They have become the friendlies of the baby chicks. They run over to the food and water each morning when I come to do chores.

You can see all 3 breeds... Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons & Barred Rocks. They no longer look like baby chicks...more like miniature hens.

Just in time for hanging laundry on the line... the pink lilac bush, just outside the back door, is beginning to bloom... and it smells yummy. It is located a few feet from the clothesline... the aroma lures me outdoors to hang the clothes.

The grape arbor is beginning to leaf out. I strung out a soaker hose around it yesterday. This fall the leaves will turn purple with bright lime green veins. I press them in the phone books, then toss them all over the table on Thanksgiving.

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Enjoy,

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

Raffle Quilt......Workshop

4th of July Quilt

Quiltmaker: Jan Bressler of JanniLou Creations Quilt Shop, Philomath, Oregon

Pattern Designed by: Judy Niemeyer of Montana

Click Images to Enlarge:

I spent Saturday with the members of the Mary's River Quilt Guild. We participated in a paper piecing class to create the 4th of July quilt pictured above. This quilt will be our 2010 raffle quilt.

After a thorough paper piecing lesson, lead by instructor Jan Bressler, the volunteer quilters were paper piecing units like the ones above. The gorgeous batik fabrics worked well with this design.

Earlier in May a group of volunteers gathered to cut all of the fabrics needed for this quilt.

This is Jan Tallis, who completed the very first paper pieced unit of the day!

Jan is responsible for producing the MRQG Newsletter.

Volunteer quilters began arriving at 9:30 am ready for a full day of paper piecing.

Linda, Marcia & Kelly kept things lively in the back of the room

Paper Piecing is all about sewing on the lines

This is one of the main paper pieced units with a curved arc unit added to the top

By the end of the day there were piles of completed units all over the classroom.

This is a HUGE help to our raffle quilt committee.

Please see Debbie van der Sommen to check out a packet of blocks to paper piece.

The block packets will be at the next Mary's River Quilt Guild Meeting, May 28, 2009, 7pm, Benton County Museum, Philomath Oregon

When I arrived home Saturday evening, I pulled down the driveway.....Dancer & Freckles were there to greet me with a view of Mary's Peak in the background.

I had a fun day with the quilters and it was good to be home.

CLICK HERE to view My Quilts

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