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