Over the Fence

Hi, it's been a while, but I have been quilting up a storm!  I have lots to show you today also.  First, I finished quilting the Bunny and Dog quilt. Those blue things are the little wire fence they were looking over, but I think the fact that I have to keep explaining what that is,, means that I should just call the quilt "Over the Fence".

The quilt is about 19 x 27 inches.  I decided to face it after watching this: Terry Aske facing a quilt.  

Here are close-ups of the animals:

The bunny is Sweetie.  I quilted her whiskers with Perle cotton.   It went right into the needle that I had on my machine, no tension adjustments or anything.  Worked like a dream!

This is Rusty.  I used several colors from Hollis Chatelain's Living Colors Threads from Superior Threads - a must-have thread collection for portrait quilters.

And on to other projects:

 Here are my two cuties, Sheldon and Kona (the black poodle mix), both rescues, sitting on some dog beds that I made.  I save my really small scraps and batting pieces to make these beds for shelter dogs.  My friends know about this and are always bringing me scraps.  So I have made quite a few.  Kona and Sheldon think they have to break them all in first!

But this is what my sweet Kona did last week when I was out.  She's 7 yrs old, so not a puppy thing... I think she was scratching out a sleeping area.  That is wool batting, VERY expensive, arggghhh!

So I have been doing some quilt samples for free motion quilting classes that I teach at Gromes Sewing Machine shop. 

 This is a panel from Angela Walters Textures collection.  I used my beginner quilting designs on this panel as a demo of the skills we learn.  I know, I know, it's way over-quilted for a beginner, but I want to inspire and show students the possibilities.  

I teach this class this Saturday..  I think we'll have fun!

In a more advanced free motion quilting class, we are working on these wholecloth feather wreath quilts.  I am working on the outer borders now using a design similar to one I have seen on several quilts before.  I used longarm rulers, specifically, Linda Hrcka's curved ruler set.  This is quilted using gold Glide thread.  

Quote for today:

If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.

William J. Clinton

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/learn.html#AdmrOpxesx5kcmgs.99

PCT and portraits

I havent' been able to blog for a while because I took a road trip to Campos, CA to drop my son off at the trailhead of the Pacific Crest Trail.  Here he is starting out on his 2000+ mile journey.

 My husband and I rented an RV and invited my father to come along also.  It was a great trip.  My son Ken texted this morning that he has hiked 109 miles this first week of his trek.

Before I left, I was playing with some more portrait quilts.  I wanted to portray someone iconic, that most women admire.... who better than The Clooney!!

I used this photo from noble custom icons of style to make a portrait that I can happily hang in my sewing room to look at every day:)

This portrait quilt was quick and easy using Maria Elkins technique from Making Faces CD. That cheek highlight has a little too much contrast, right?  I will try painting it a little darker to see if that makes it better.  I'll show you when it's done.  Choosing fabrics is the hardest part of portrait quilting for me anyway.

My cousin Gail, who takes great photographs, gave me permission to use this pic of Rusty (dog) and Sweetie (bunny).  I love this photo.  It makes one wonder "What happens next?" 

I used my own methods to create this quilt top.  I cut up snippets of yellow fabrics for the background flowers.  This is on the quilting machine right now, so I will share the finished product soon.  I can't wait to get it quilted.  It measures 20 x 30 inches, so the animals are lifesized.  

Oh and it's so sad, but Rusty went to the great doggy park in the sky recently.  Maybe Gail would like this quilt??

“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.”

―M.K. Clinton