Custom Quilting - combining digital patterns with hand guided stitching

Quilted with Modern Gem by Anita Shackelford

Earlier this month Christine brought this striking quilt to me for long arm quilting.  It was a quilt she made several years ago to be used on her bed.  She was clear that she didn't want an edge to edge digital pattern all over it, so we looked at what we could do to enhance the directional pattern of the bright green flying geese triangles.


Quilt by Christine

For this custom quilting I used a combination of digital patterns and hand guided stitching. The quilt is made up of log cabin blocks, so I treated each block individually.  For the blocks which were part of the directional pattern I used a geometric digital pattern (Modern Gem by Anita Shackelford) and for the plain log cabin blocks I used my rulers to stitched in the ditch.  Having a long arm machine which allows both of these options really opens up more design choices for my customers.

Isacord 5912 Green Thread

Christine didn't hold back on the colours on her quilt , so we chose a bright green Isacord thread for the quilting.  Christine provided the wadding.


Custom Quilting - digital patterns combined with hand guided work

Each of the border squares were individual, so again I used my rulers on each one to stitch in the ditch on the outside and the inside and I devised a simple geometric pattern to fill the green space in between.  Christine also had her binding ready and waiting so as part of the service I was able to stitch that on for her too.  A few evenings of hand stitching the binding to the other side, and her quilt will be ready for her bed.

Quilting for Christmas - Alouette Pantograph



Red Stars quilt by Wendy - French General Fabric

Here are some more of the quilts that were destined for Christmas gifts which I completed for my customers at the end of last year.  Firstly, this red star quilt by Wendy which features French General fabrics. (I can't believe how many quilts have passed through my hands from this fabric range!)

Floral Lap Quilt by Hilary, with Alouette pantograph

Secondly, this pretty floral lap quilt by Hilary.  For both of these quilts they wanted Edge to Edge quilting and they chose the Alouette pattern.



Alouette Digital Pantograph created by Natalie Gorman and Patricia Ritter

The Alouette pantograph is a gentle combination of feathers and swirls and looked great on both these traditional quilts. With such an elegant pattern it was lovely to see it showcased on the back of Hilary's quilt as well.


Alouette Digital Pantograph created by Natalie Gorman and Patricia Ritter

To see the growing range of digital pantograph patterns available, pop over to the Fabadashery Pinterest page.

 

Allietare Mystery Quilt 2015 - Quilting

Allietare Mystery Quilt with Wave on Wave Pantograph

My annual guilty quilting pleasure is to join the ride of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery quilt.  It is launched at Thanksgiving and is released weekly until the reveal which is usually New Year's Day.  This year the mystery quilt was an Italian inspired design, Allietare.


Allietare Mystery Quilt with Wave on Wave Pantograph

This is my third mystery quilt and the aim is to use up some of the lingering scraps in my fabric stash and take me out of my comfort zone with design and techniques.   I can highly recommend it.


Wave on Wave Pantograph by Patricia Ritter

The top was finished last week and for my Allietare quilt top I chose an all over pantograph pattern called 'Wave on Wave' designed by Patricia Ritter at Urban Elementz.


Allietare Mystery Quilt with Wave on Wave Pantograph

My new customers often comment that realising they can get their quilts long arm quilted really liberates them and gives them enthusiasm to move onto the next quilting project.  I share that feeling - knowing that I could join in the Allietare Mystery quilt and get the quilt quilted so that it would be in circulation within a few weeks really encouraged me to stick with it.


Allietare Mystery Quilt 2015

So here it is complete and on the bed - yes, it is already in use!
Joining up with the final Allietare Monday Link UP to see how everyone else has done.

 

Fabadashery Long Arm Quilting - Happy New Year

APQS Millennium - Fabadashery Long Arm Quilting

Now that Christmas is over I can show you some of the quilts and presents that I quilted for some of my customers over the past few weeks.  I have been busy on my APQS Millenium long arm quilting machine and have enjoyed seeing all the quilts you have made that were gifted to others (or yourself!)


Kiss Pantograph by Melonie J Caldwell and Patricia Ritter

This quilt is by Catherine and shows off one of the new patterns which is available in my quilting catalogue, 'Kiss' by Melonie J Caldwell and Patricia Ritter.  It is a simple pattern with a paisley feel to it.  The quilt itself is quite busy, but the pattern shows up nicely on the yellow border.

Kiss Pantograph by Melonie J Caldwell and Patricia Ritter