This quilt is a STAR!

My new quilty friend Nadine brought this quilt to me and gave me "quilter's choice" freedom to choose the quilting designs. She just said she wanted it to be a custom job (as opposed to an all-over quilting pattern) and told me to do whatever I wanted.

I knew that I wanted the stars to stand out, so I quilted them less densely than the adjacent areas, leaving the batting within the stars to puff up in a 3D effect. I used a very traditional continuous curve motif to work my way around these perfectly-pointed stars.

Swirls in the white areas around the big stars.

Serpentine in the white areas around the small stars. Overlapping ribbon candy in the gray half-square-triangles outside that. Swirls in the white areas outside that. Ribbon candy in the flying-geese black triangles.

In the setting triangles around the outside (see below), I quilted arcs with overlapping ribbon candy on the inside and feathers on the outside. 

In the black sashing strips that wove their way amongst the quilt squares, I stitched serpentine parallel lines. 

The funny thing about these serpentine lines... I'm pretty good at quilting/drawing a straight line from top to bottom. Less good from bottom to top. I pretty okay at quilting a straight line from left to right, worse from right to left. You know what I'm pretty darn bad at (and didn't realize prior to this project)? Straight, parallel lines that are DIAGONAL. And that's exactly what they were all over the body of this quilt. After about 6 inches of the first strip, I had to step away and sketch for a while, because it was a PROBLEM! I tried to contort my body from side to side, so that I could imagine I was straight on. Next time, I think I'll just do lines up and down! 

One thing that did help was using my hand to press down on the ruler-base-extender on my machine, to create some drag and keep that free-floating machine under a little more control. Finally my left hand can contribute to the quilting process!

On the outer borders I stitched pearls on a string for the spine of feathers. Every time I use a string-of-pearls motif, I think of Glenn Miller.

All-in-all, I think it turned out great, and I sure hope Nadine thinks so, too!

Nadine's Geometric Gem

This quilt was made by my newest quilting hero, Nadine. She is a first-time client for me, and I couldn't stop marveling at how PERFECT this quilt top is. Every point is perfect, every seam is pressed, everything straight and square and flat. It was a DREAM to work with. And it will make a great gift for her teenage granddaughter. It's beginning to look a lot like Christ-mas!

French Birds Appliqué Quilt

A new client, Linda, brought this quilt to me after seeing my work on another appliquéd piece I did for Rumpled Quiltskins quilt shop. She left the quilting design up to me, which is always a nice treat for a quilter. I tried to compliment the intricate embroidery with quilting in the same frame-of-mind and density.

I have to admit, this quilt had its way with me. I started off envisioning less intense quilting, a much simpler design. But as I got to working, I just couldn't stop. It was like the quilt just told me what it wanted. The embroidery is so stunning, it demanded that I step up my game to try and meet it on the same footing. I'm so happy I deviated from the original plan. I think it turned out pretty nicely!

Nicole's Table Topper

Nicole is another new client that I think I'm going to be thankful to have in my life. Her coming through my door was like receiving an injection of happiness. She made this table topper for her sister, and I just marveled at the bright, bold colors. Apparently, these are the colors of her sister's home - walls, decor, etc.

I am so envious of people who aren't afraid to commit to bold color choices. I see them in other people's homes or in magazines, and I think they are so great. But when it comes to my own home, I just chicken out and go with varying shades of taupe. Every time!

I was excited to give this little piece back to Nicole and find out that she got the go-ahead from her husband to have me do a larger quilt for HERSELF! Yay!

Ingrid's Funky 9-Patch quilt

This little charmer was fast and fun. Ingrid is a new client, and she (and her quilt) couldn't be more "chill". She insisted that she didn't care when I got this piece done, and she barely committed to picking a quilting motif. I have a feeling she wanted to just say, "whatever you want!". I love bringing people into my life who are completely hassle-free!

Betty's Quarter Log Cabins #2

My church friend Betty hired me for this quilt, which was a little sister to a larger version she gave me to practice on during my self-imposed training period when I got my longarm quilting machine back in August. I wanted to keep this one similar, but not exactly the same. Just for my own sanity. I thought I'd change it up a little. It was fun to see the progress I've made in developing my craft from the time I did the first quilt in September to now. 

This one has swirls in the interior of the quilt. Ribbon candy (I'm determined to get as good at them as Kathleen Riggins!) in the dark gray border. Serpentine lines in the light gray border. And then swirls-with-order in the broad outer border.

Here's the original post I did for the first quilt: 

Plum Attic Windows

This quilt is from a new quilting acquaintance, Barbara, who entrusted this dazzler to me. The quarter log cabin (aka attic windows) pattern was beautifully executed. She's a true technician! I had just gotten in the "dusty plum" thread that we selected to quilt with, and I think it was just right. We went with "peonies" motif in the interior of the quilt, philodendron in the black border, and oak leaves on a vine in the outer border. I really like how it turned out!