HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

I just spent the last 3 days working on 'Love' quilts for the Devine Quilt Guild. The 'Love ' quilt co-ordinator brought me 10 tops that had been donated by members. Some had the backings and some had the batting and some had the binding all ready to go.I put each one on Olivia's frame and one by one we quilted all 10 of them. I didn't use anything fancy as far as design work. Most were done in a meander type of pantograph. Using a pantograph is actually easier for me than trying to figure which direction free handed. This was fun, fun, fun. I never had the first thread break or tension problem. I used Quilters Dream cotton and Warm and Natural battings. Threads used were Sew Fine in the top and Fil-Tec's magna-glides in the bobbins.

Create a digital greeting card

Matt Sparrow just posted that there are 27,440 stitches on the Magna Glide M bobbins. If that is true, then, Olivia and I took 164,640 stitches in the 10 quilts we worked on.That boils down to 16,464 average stitches per quilt. Getting tired just thinking about that. No, really, it was a blast.

To top that off, members of the Guild volunteered to bind all of these quilts. So, I had visitors yesterday and today in the studio picking up their quilts to bind. We hope to have all of them finished by our first meeting of the year which will be next Monday.

This has made for a great New Year's Eve.

Well, it's time to send everyone information on Quilt Camp for February 2013. I will be in touch with each person over the next week. The first 2 clues for the mystery will be included with all the other 'stuff' I send out. It is time to 'gear up' for Quilt Camp and that is always fun. It gives us something to look forward to during the gray days of January and February. It's a busy time, but, I love it.

Several quilts in the 'que' for the next few weeks. Some pantographs (thank goodness) and several custom's that will stretch my creativity. I look forward to all of them.

This week starts my third year of retirement. I did just renew my Dental Hygiene License for the next 3 years, just in case I need it. Once you have one of these, you really don't want to turn it loose. Besides, my license number is soooooooooooooo low it really is almost a collectors item. I have enjoyed the past 2 years. I really feel as though I have done the right thing. I love my quilting and the people that I meet. I have scheduled several high profile events to attend during 2013 and really look forward to that type of continuing education to mix in with the Dental Hygiene con't ed. My TMJ problems have stopped and my Blood Pressure is much lower. I LOVE MY JOB AND MY BOSS AND MY STUDIO!!!!

Hope you have a blessed New Year and in the words of Pat Sloan:
"LET'S GO SEW!!!!"

Fabric Requirements for Quilt Camp Mystery

This post is for those who are attending 'Think Spring 2013' Quilt Camp. So sorry, there will be no other information posted on this topic. Pictures of the finished tops will be posted after 'Think Spring 2013'.


Koi Garden Mystery Quilt    60” x 80”                                      updated 12/13/12
This 60” x 80” quilt will frame a single piece of fabric, which it uses as a medallion center.
Koi Garden Fabric Requirements
Fabric 1: Panel or “to die for” large scale fabric:  .75 yards to 1.25 yards. Read on:  This will be cut to 20.5 inches wide by 40.5 inches long and be the center of the quilt.  Most “panels” that are 2/3 yds or 24” can be trimmed to this size.  Large scale prints (pref. 24” repeat) will usually need to be fussy cut lengthwise to find the best section of the print to use.  Think large Asian prints, large florals, large animal repeats (peacocks, jungle, wolves, eagles, sea life, etc.).
Fabric 2:  small scale fabric, medium to dark color, pulled from Fabric 1, to frame it:  .25 yards
Fabric 3/light:  light background, color pulled from Fabric 1, or compatible.  3.5 yards
Fabric 4:  medium to dark, small scale color pulled from Fabric 1, or compatible:  .5 yards
Fabric 5:  medium to dark, small scale color pulled from Fabric 1, or compatible:  .5 yards
Fabric 6:  medium to dark, small scale color pulled from Fabric 1, or compatible: .5 yards
Fabric 7:  medium to dark, small scale color pulled from Fabric 1, or compatible: .5 yards
Note:  If you are having trouble pulling 4 colors for fabrics 4-7, you can use 2 fabrics, doubling the amounts:                                                   that is, Fabric 4/5:  1 yard   and   Fabric 6/7:   1 yard
Fabric Swatches:

Fabric 1 Fabric 2 Fabric 3



Fabric 4 Fabric 5 Fabric 6 Fabric 7



Batting: Twin
Backing: 5 yards
Binding: 2/3 yard (8 strips cut 2.5”)

Gallon bags (6),  labeled as:
□  Blocks A/B/C       □  Block D □ Blocks E/F        □  Excess fabric
□  Medallion      □  Borders  

Fabrics that were chosen by the 'testers':

OK. now, everyone go shopping at your Local Quilt Shop!!! They need the business!!!

Workin' on Christmas Presents

I have caught up on customer Christmas quilts, so for today, I  am working on one of my own. It is a jelly roll quilt that is for a young lady that does not read my blog. She made her Daddy paint her room hot pink, and he did it. I love jelly roll tops. They can be so much fun and I love how they turn out. There is no pressure to design with these.

I am quilting it in 'hot pink'. The pantograph that I am using is this one:

It looks great on this quilt.

I have also finished quilting one for special Grandson. He doesn't read my blog either:

I quilted his using this pantograph:

I quilted it in Red, White, Blue Thread...........Looks wonderful.

Ok, that's it for me. Now, back to play time.I have a special event coming up on Wednesday, so, need to get some of these things done.

Still have 2 sewing spaces available for Spring Quilt Camp..............just sayin'.

Have a great week,

TWO SPACES REMAIN !!!!!

I hope that everyone has now recovered from that massive Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully you survived Black Friday and are now ready for Cyber Monday. It's amazing how this time of the year has evolved into a retail holiday. Not so sure that I like that.

We had a wonderful weekend of Family, Food, and Fun. The only 'fly in the ointment' came about when our team lost their game. Well, still a Tiger, always a Tiger.

It has been good to finish up some customer quilts and work just a little on mine. I still have a few to get to customers within the next two weeks and then I can really get to work on Christmas at the Greer house. I do have a mini-retreat planned in a few days. I am taking a few friends to the beach and we are going to 'test' out Beth's mystery for Spring Quilt Camp. That should be fun and don't forget the food part of the weekend. I sure do love that part.

Speaking of Spring Quilt Camp, there are only   2  sewing spaces available for February 2013. So, if you intend to spend the weekend 'sewing with the Frayed Knots', you need to let me know. Some people have had trouble with the registration form link  and I am not sure why that is. Whenever I click on it everything is fine. However, if you have a problem, just email me and I will send you all of the information. The group that attended 'Sewin' in the Summer' in August had a ton of fun.

I have spent the day trying to catch up on some 'book work'...Gee I hate that. However, I did manage to catch up a little. It kills me that the end of the year is just around the corner. I don't know where the time goes, but, it sure does fly!!!

Ok, time to go cook supper for Mr. OLT. He is home for a few days so I have to prepare his favorites. Got to keep on his good side. Especially since I have a new 'baby' coming into the studio next week. Can't wait to try her out. Pictures later.

Forgot to mention that I have one camper that needs a room mate, so, if you don't have someone that wants to come with you, no problem.

Have a good week.

Sun Bonnet Really Shines

I finally completed the quilting on Faye's "Sue" top. Sue has been on my frame for 14 days, but, I have to admit that I did not work on her that entire time. I am so happy with the results of my work. Sue looks beautiful and will be in Faye's family for many years to come. It is so rewarding to see these quilts come to life as I work.

Sue is King Size, so was hard to get a good full picture.

 I loved doing the crosshatching in the blocks. For me, the precision of template quilting is really satisfying. In the chain blocks I also used templates to do continuous curve.

The sashing treatments were done using 'Sew Clear' Clamshell template from Willow Leaf Studio.

On the large white border I stitched a modified bead board pattern with just a straight template and no marking.

This was sooooooooooo much fun, but, now I need to do something not quite so precise. We will just have to see what goes on the frame next. I think that it is Vicki's top that is up next. We'll see.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Quilters Dream,Superior Thread,Olivia and I

I finished this customer quilt today.

When I took it in, Phyllis and I discussed several ways to quilt it. She was 'sick' of looking at it and told me to put a pantograph on it. Then  she said that she trusted me to do what would be best. Wellllll, I couldn't just stitch a pantograph over the top of her hard work, even though I have a few that would have worked very well. So, I did full custom on the top.

All of the blocks were stabilized first. Then I did a continuous curve in all of the checkerboard blocks. After that I did L's and e's in the outside border because I still didn't know what I wanted to do in the applique blocks.

I finally decided to echo around the applique and just 'went to town' on that. The next thing I knew, I was finished.

This has been a fun quilt to work on. I used Quilters Dream Blend as the batting, with Superior's King Tut thread on the top and Superior's So Fine in the bobbin. Olivia stitched like a dream and we all had loads of fun.


Oh, you want to see the back? Here ya go:

Have a great day,

One Happy Longarmer

Yes I am. Olivia is stitching beautifully and we are just working away. Last week before I left for retreat, Tommy came over and worked on Olivia. She was a little out of sorts and needed some special adjustments that I did not know how to make. Now, after that massage appointment, she is purring. This is what is on the frame today.

This belongs to Phyllis and I am very excited to be working on it. If you want to see what else Olivia and I have been working on, just check out the Customer page by clicking the link at the top of this page.

Also, if you have not registered for Think Spring 2013 Quilt Camp, now is the time to do so. The links for additional information are also on the top of this page.

Now, back to Olivia. She is so much fun to play with.

Quilters of South Carolina Pieceable Retreat

Trying to get ready for a fantastic weekend with over 300 of my closest friends. The class that I will be taking on Saturday and Sunday is the 'Sunset ' Quilt.

This is the pattern that we will be using and I love the scrappyness of it. However, as with any other quilt I have to pick fabrics. Hate that part.

I have gone through my scraps and selected quite a few mediums and darks. I have also picked out fabrics for the background (I am only using 2, maybe only 1). For some reason I am just not 'feeling the love' for these fabrics. I plan to just put the strips in a bag and pull out the pairs as I work so that I won't stress over what goes with what, but, I'm still not real happy with the idea. It could be that I have worked with these same scraps for 3 or 4 years and I just need some 'new' scraps.


So, I thought about making a 'themed' quilt. You know, Christmas, vegetables, fruit, Halloween. You get the idea. So, went to part of my 'Halloween' stash and pulled out these fabrics:

I could still use the same backgrounds or, I could go to a black background. I hate picking fabric.

As I looked at the Halloween stash I was not seeing a lot of contrast as far as mediums and darks. So, I thought I might check my theory on that, and this is what showed up.

Did you know that if you take a picture of your fabrics in black and white mode then you can actually see if there is good contrast. As for this stack of fabrics.................I'm not seeing good contrast, how about you. So, the idea was a good one? but, I don't think it will work. However they might work well with the black background, if I throw in enough lime green and neon yellow? Shoot!! I hate picking fabric.Love to buy it though.

That is where I am today. Can't work with Olivia until Tommy comes and adjusts her tomorrow, so, just trying to get things together for retreat. I have the doors open and am letting the beautiful South Carolina fall weather in. What a beautiful day.

Hope you have a good week,

New Quilts !!!

Yes, I have been busy. I have loaded a few new quilts on the customer page, so go see what I have been doing.

Things are beginning to pick up for Christmas, so, if you need something by then, you need to let me know now.

Remember to register for Quilt Camp in February 2013. You can do that from the registration page. All the information is there. Fill out your form and mail in your registration with your check so that you can reserve the space you want. Beth has been working on the Mystery quilt and it is really going to be different from anything we have done before. Lookin' good.

I will post more later, but for now, back to work.

Oh yes, we do need a picture don't we? OK, here ya go:

Update????

Yes, I know I am sooooooooooooo behind on the blog. Especially since I haven't posted about Maymester or Sewin' in the Summer. I will get to it, and soon. Just so you will know that I am around, this is what I am working on currently. It's Pam's quilt. Beautiful applique. We are using Quilters Dream Wool Batting and it is quilting beautifully. Have a look.

I'm taking a few days for R and R, so, see ya later alligator.

Double Wedding Ring-How I load one

I started loading this 5 hours ago:

This is an antique top that was totally hand pieced. It has stains. It has open seams. It has quite a few challenges, but, it wants to be a beautifully quilted flat quilt. So, that's what is going to happen.

First I drew a line on top of the batting so that I would have a guideline for pinning the top:

I used a marker that would disappear quickly. I am measuring down from the basting line that I used for the batting. I am making sure that I have plenty of room for the curves.




Then I pinned the curves back in as straight a line as I could lining up with the drawn blue line.

Is all of this clear as mud?


Next up, I basted the top with the horizontal channel lock engaged.

Due to the fact that I know that this top is going to present some challenges, I am going to baste the entire top down and just work in sections, as though I would be hand quilting it. I also used the vertical channel lock and basted in the other direction, in an effort to keep the sides straight.

As you can see, there will be some areas to work with as I go through the top.

See all of the blue lines? That is where I have thread basted the three layers together.

I am sure there is an easier way to do this, but, I don't know it.

With so many challenges in this top, I felt that this is what I needed to do before I actually started the quilting process. Yes, it took a full morning, but, good preparation can make the difference between success or failure. I have also been in a position to see every inch of this top and become well acquainted with it.
Now, this afternoon...................I will actually begin the quilting process. This will take probably 3 or 4 days, so don't expect me to post again for a few days. You can check out and watch progress on my Facebook page since I usually post daily.

Finished pictures will post here when this is completed. Have a good week and stay cool.

Columbia Children's Theatre

This turned out so nice. I am very pleased with the results.

This is 59" x 59"--considered a Small Throw

I finished this today. It was promised months ago so I am glad to see it going to 'the theatre'.  Tori will take it in tonight and I hope it will be well received. I have worked up a price list for four different sizes of this quilt and will donate a generous portion of the proceeds, from the orders, back to the theatre. All orders must be accompanied by:  the T-shirts to be used and a deposit of 50% of the total cost. Approximate lead time will have to be at least 6 weeks.

Orders WILL NOT BE RECEIVED AT THE THEATRE. You must place your order through One Loose Thread Quilting.

If interested you can email me.

A Week in Review

Now, let's see, what have I been doing over the last week or so?
1.  Finished up the binding on Lynn's Double Wedding Ring. She just picked it up and I am actually sad to see it go. I do know that she will love it and use it for years to come.

2.  I did finish up my challenge quilt for Nite Bee. We were to do 'A Tree' in any form or fashion that we wanted to. I had envisioned all kinds of trees over the past six months and bought YARDS of fabric to make this little 18 x 22 inch. quilt. This is what I came up with:

18" x 22"

Worked with some small feathers

Not sure you can see, but, feathers in the border too.

3.  We have had an idea for 'ironing' tables for retreat. I am trying to cut down on what has to be carried to make room for more projects. So, I spent the weekend quilting some insulbrite and silver stuff together for that project:

Look how nicely this is quilting

I was able to load 2 at the time

All done

These were turned over to Judy for completion. We want to use them to cover 6 foot tables. That will allow 4 people at a time to use the ironing surface and won't take up as much space as 4 ironing boards. Plus it will give us the same capacity as a big board. I will let you know how this works out.

Added this completion picture 8-11-12.

These work really well and we will be using them at Sewin' in the Summer Quilt Camp.

4.  Survived my stress test and was glad of that. Won't have to do that again for awhile.

Deadline for Sewin' in the Summer Quilt Camp is approaching. If you have been putting this off, now is the time to get it done. Soon I will be finalizing the arrangements so get your registration to me before August 1, 2012.

So, I guess that's my week in review. Now I am only 1 week behind and will get to this weeks antics in a couple of days. It's been interesting.

Until then