Quilting Stormy...

I am working on Stormy today.

Let's see where the day takes us...

Click Images to Enlarge:

Stormy

I chose a medium brown batik for the inner border

Auditioning Final Border Fabrics:

I pulled a variety of light, medium & dark fabrics and arranged them around the edges.

Medium Browns are yummy...

Dark Fabrics...

Dark/Textured Fabrics...

Light Fabrics...

Medium Browns are too blendy with the inner border

Dark Fabrics are well......too dark

I love this fabric......but it just demands too much attention.

I want the horse to be center stage.

I like the light fabric......but I think I can do better

This fabric is light, but warm........the horse is the main focus.

I think we have a winner !

Basted and ready to go under the needle

Backing Fabric & Bobbin Thread

I chose a medium gray thread to blend into the backing fabric.

I plan to use 2 threads for the quilting on the horse.

There are a lot of different fabrics, and I don't plan on changing threads 30 times!

This medium brown thread will work for all of the lighter areas.

The size 75 needle will work nicely for this tiny 60 wt thread.

I warmed up on a quilt sandwich to get the tension adjusted:

I had to decrease the tension to nearly 1

All of the lighter fabrics have been quilted...

Face........Quilted

I am now ready to quilt the darker areas:

I chose a dark brown thread

All of the dark fabrics have been quilted:

Nose & Mouth........Quilted

I am using an off-white thread for the background behind the horse head:

I shadow stitched mane hair into the background fabric

Ready to Quilt the Border:

This golden yellow thread should work nicely

I want the border to be textured, but I don't want the stitches to be center stage and take away from the central horse image...

Border.......Machine Quilted

Next..... a binding treatment

I am calling it a day...

Here is the view as I push myself away from the sewing machine:

Gunnr & Suzy

The best Quilting Dogs I know

Gunnr 3 year old Boxer

Suzy 15 year old Jack Russell Terrier

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to see the first part of this post

CLICK HERE to see the completed Quilt

CLICK HERE for Machine Quilting Tips

CLICK HERE to view my Art Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Chicken Slideshow

CLICK HERE to view Jello Printing

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Thank You!.......Quilters Dream Batting

A package arrived in the mail today...

Quilters Dream Batting

Click Images to Enlarge:

Suzy won 2 Battings...

Dream Green Battings

Created from recycled plastic bottles

If there is a quilt left lying around...

Suzy gets cozy.

I photo transferred this image onto fabric:

Suzy in Sunshine

Photo Transfer, Free Motion Thread Work, Quilted & Bound

Winning Entry in the

Pets on Quilts

Contest

Thank you Quilters Dream Batting

and

SewCalGal for hosting this contest

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Suzy's Winning Entry

CLICK HERE to view more Photo Transfer Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Cow Pony Quilt Slideshow

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Bernina.....Home from the Repair Shop

The Bernina is Back in Action !

Click Images To Enlarge:

I went into town yesterday and brought Bernie home from the repair shop.

I highly Recommend Rich's Sew & Vac.

I learn something from the technicians every time I go in there.

Your machine is only as good as you are.

This is what I learned:

I use adhesive spray to baste my quilt sandwiches together.

In the last 18 months I have had more than 40 quilts under the needle.

That is a lot of adhesive being pushed down into the bobbin housing.

I also neglected to bring Bernie in for her yearly physical.

So....you could say I brought all this on myself.

No......I don't plan on giving up adhesive sprays.......ever.

Here is the advice the technician shared with me:

Titanium Needles

The adhesive does not stick to them as readily as regular needles.

Therefore, the bobbin housing will remain cleaner.

Every 20 - 40 hours of Machine Quilting...

Take apart the bobbin housing, clean out all the debris and any adhesive, place a drop of oil, then put it back together.

Here is the best part:

Regular Needles cost $1 each

Titanium Needles cost $2 each

Titanium Needles last 5 - 8 times longer.

They are also stronger, and perform better during high speed free motion quilting.

Which means, they create a nicer stitch on the surface of your quilt.

Now that I have Bernie back in my clutches, I am going to set her up in the Thread Shed and let her stretch her legs today...

The Pink Coneflower images are from my trip to Yakima this month.

Please enjoy using them in your personal art work.

I am always happy to share beauty...

CLICK HERE to read the first part of this post

CLICK HERE:  to see My Quilts

CLICK HERE to view the Cattle

CLICK HERE to view Woven Quilts

CLICK HERE to view Sun Dyeing

May Your Bobbin Never Be Full of Adhesive,

LuAnn