Moose Lodge.......Quilting the MOOSE

Time to Quilt the Moose...

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I was tempted to do lots of threadplay on these guys....nah!

I chose a simple line of stitching following the silhouette of the moose.

After all, I think there are 12 of these guys in the borders.

Threadwork would have taken days!

I started at the top of the front leg, on the edge.

I followed the shape of the leg down to the hoof.

Then I went back up the other side of the leg.

I inlined all four legs, then echo quilted back over to where I started.

Then I just echo quilted the lines moving in a North to South direction.

The moose are heavily quilted, it added texture, and didn't take very long.

The moose come in all shapes and sizes on this quilt.

Even this tall skinny moose quilted up nicely in the same manner as above.

She who is lazy.....pays for it later!

My rule of thumb is to clean out the bobbin area between every new bobbin.

It has become a habit.....but for some reason...today.....I didn't do it.

It came back to haunt me!

I started breaking bobbin thread. I re-threaded the bobbin and re-threaded the top several times, but it kept breaking.

I took off the throat plate and what a mess!

That heavy YLI Green Variegated thread really built up a lot of lint in just a few hours.

Look at that linty mess in the bobbin area!

It was creating a tangled mess out of the bobbin thread and causing it to break!

I work more with trilobal polyester threads anymore, which don't have lint build up.

I forgot just how fuzzy those heavy cotton threads can be!

Learned my lesson.......clean out after every bobbin!

This little flashlight lives in the drawer next to the sewing machine.

It comes in handy when I need to see underneath into the bobbin area.

Quilting the Border Background Next...

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

May Your Bobbin Always Be CLEAN and Full,

LuAnn

Moose Lodge.......Quilting the TREES

Time to Quilt the Borders of Moose Lodge...

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The TREES are fusible web, raw edge, applique.

I zig zag stitched around all the raw edges of the trees.

I placed my finger on the tree and traced over the flowing branches until a quilting idea came to me.....

First TREE machine quilted.

I like the flowing lines across the surface of the tree.

I also like the way the variegated thread shows up and add texture.

Here is how I did it...

It was easiest for me to turn the tree on its side, no bulk under the arm of the sewing machine at this angle. Always try to work to your advantage.

I started with the bottom branch and quilted downward across the tree to the opposite bottom branch...slowly stitching from branch to branch in a vertical line.

It is easier to quilt from North to South.....than it is East to West in direction.

At this point, I am up to the third branch...and ready to come back down to the fourth branch on the bottom. This was fun and very relaxing to quilt.

These simple lines of quilting added so much texture to this solid looking tree.

Keep bouncing back and forth North to South from branch to branch...

I made it to the top of the tree!

I will definitely use this quilting motif on trees in future quilts.

It is relaxing and very therapeutic stitching.

The TREEs are all done...

Now I need to decide how to quilt the Moose......hmmm.

Just thought I would show you what I did this morning before I made it out to the Thread Shed to begin quilting the Moose Lodge Trees....

The Hen House was in need of immediate attention:

New Bedding

After the new bedding was spread out....

I tore up a stale loaf of bread and tossed it in the hen house.

That really stirred things up!

The hens pecked away at the bread joyfully!

Grabbing a big hunk of bread and running to a corner to eat it in private.

They don't like to share very well...

After their bellies were full...

They turned their attention on the camera...

They love the camera....always coming closer and closer!

These are the friendliest and sweetest hens we have ever raised.

Dottie loves to swing on the gate...

We also spread 2,600 lbs. of river rock in the chicken yard outside the hen house.

The chicken yard was getting rather muddy and yucky.

The smooth river rock is easy for the hens to walk on and keeps their feet and legs dry.

May Your Hens Never Have Muddy Feet,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

Moose Lodge......Innies & Outies

Machine Quilting the Moose Lodge Quilt

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This is a large lap size or a single bed sized quilt.

It is meant as a personal quilt for my uncle, not a wall ornament.

My objective is to heavily quilt this so it will stay together through use and repeated washings.

Innies & Outies motif is perfect for the central part of the quilt.

Thanks to Patsy Thompson & her fabulous DVD's I can do innies & outies!

Innies & Outies

Good background fill, quick and also lots of fun to do!

I like the curvy lines of the quilting stitches against the straight lines of the pieced blocks.

3 hours later, the center of the quilt is done.

Next comes the fun part......the border quilting.....the TREES!

Daffodil Buds

These were just popping out of the ground in December when we were decorating the Christmas Tree.

The winters are quite mild here in the Coastal Mountain Range of Western Oregon.

Tulips Sprouting

I know it is January and most of you are covered in snow....

but our Tulips think it is spring time!

We are forced to plant tulips in containers...the moles eat the tulip bulbs like they are dessert!

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

Moose Lodge.....Getting ready to Quilt

Wow....I can't believe this is finally going under the needle!

I pieced this a few years back.

It has been basted for more than a year...

Click Images to Enlarge:

Moose Lodge

We are headed for California next month.

This quilt will be riding along with us.

It is a gift for my Uncle Charlie.

Give yourself a deadline.........and projects get finished!

Moose Lodge has a gorgeous flannel fabric on the back side with caribou and bears on it. The fabric is gorgeous......but flannel is awful to quilt.....it is kind of sticky!

I spray the entire quilting surface (tables) with silicone spray.

The sticky flannel fabric will slide beautifully across the tables now.

If you haven't tried silicone, you owe it to yourself to get some.

(Don't spray it on your quilt, just on the tables your quilt rests on during machine quilting).

Auditioning Bobbin Threads

I am leaning toward the dark brown for the bobbin thread.

This is a 60 wt. Bottom Line thread.....it will just melt into the flannel.

Auditioning Top Threads

There are so many colors going on here...

Most any thread will work.

Mettler 50 wt. Cotton, YLI Variations Polyester, Bottom Line 60 wt. Polyester

I have narrowed it down to these...

The Green YLI Variegated thread keeps calling to me.

I think it will tie in nicely with the trees in the borders.

This is a very heavy thread. It will show up, even with all the plaid fabrics.

This 40 wt. thread is more like a heavy 12 wt.

Thread Stand

This HUGE spool of Green Variegated thread sits nicely on the thread stand on the back of the sewing machine. The thread will feed perfectly off the big spool thanks to the tall thread stand. Big cones of thread like to feed off the top.

I can't remember what kind of needle I last used in my machine?

I keep a magnifying glass in the drawer next to the machine.

I can easily read the size on the side of the needle.

Big thread needs a needle with a BIG EYE

My two favorites:

Organ Titanium Size 14

Schmetz Topstitch Size 14

Ready for a full day of machine quilting...

I will check back later and show you my progress!

p.s. Even after a year....the basting spray is holding this together nicely...

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