Summer Quilting

I love to do Summer Quilting!  What am I saying? I love to Quilt all year long.  Every season is a season for quilting.  Maybe I am in a very happy place in my life, but each of the 3 quilts I just finished were so fun for me.  This first quilt I want to share with you is actually for myself.  It was supposed to be a narrow table runner, but it kept growing for me.  It sits perfectly on my kitchen table and the red, blue, and white colors are perfect for the month of July.

Stars and Loops were perfect over these Courthouse Steps.  Simple and wonderful!!

The next quilt that I am sharing with you was made by my friend Joyce.  This is for a new baby grandson.  She is so excited to see her own sons' face when he sees what she made for his first son.

It's a Pirate quilt!  Isn't it adorable? ( This picture isn't very clear.)  I used a panto called 'Growing Things'.  It just seemed to go along with a new growing baby.  And the backing is a brown textured Minky.  Sooo soft!! 

The last quilt I want to share with you was made by another friend named Becky.  She is SEW sweet.  Recently her family had a reunion and she traced every relatives right hand.  But this was done secretly, so her parents would not know about it.  They have an anniversary coming up in August and the family will present this quilt to them.  I wanted to cry when I saw it.  It was very moving.  In the center are her parents' handprints.  Their handprints were aquired by telling them they were for a grandchilds preschool project.

Can you imagine how surprised and happy they are going to be to receive this quilt?  With a piece of love from each of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, they are sure to be overcome with the blessings of having a loving family.  Now they can wrap that love around them any time with this quilt.

So now you can see why I am in such a happy mood.  Quilts of ALL kinds just make me happy.  I am so glad I get to quilt for others and be a part of their successes.  Everyone is a winner!

My Journey to Quilting

Sew.......as I mentioned in my profile I learned to sew when I was 13.  I began to piece quilt tops about 10 years ago....which I absolutely love to do!  So 2 1/2 years ago, it was not a stretch for me to add Long Arm Machine Quilting into my life.  I love my Gammill!  At that time in my life, I had over 45 quilts or other small projects that were waiting to be quilted.  I was waiting to have enough money to do so.  By purchasing my Gammill, I thought to put the money that would have been spent towards quilting, towards the machine and do the quilting myself.  Great plan........right?  Yes!!   Now a few years later, I have even more projects that are in need of quilting.  Don't get me wrong......I have quilted many things for myself.  I love the feeling I get when I sleep under a quilt that I cut, pieced, quilted, and bound all by myself.  Nothing beats that!!!  No, I am behind on my personal quilting because I started to quilt for others.  Now I get to watch their faces light up when they see all of their hard work come to a wonderful end.  I will constantly be sharing what I am working on with you.  I have done lots of Custom Quilting, but have lots of Pantographs that many of my customers enjoy.  Following are the last 2 quilts I did just before the July 4th holiday.

This is a beautiful wedding quilt made by Tammy for her son and daughter-in-law.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  She chose one of my most popular pantographs that has feathers and flowers in it.  Here is a close up.

The next quilt was made by Dawn.  This is a block of the month quilt from last year that I teach in my home each month.  I loved the colors she chose!  This sure would look good in my house. 

 With a contrast thread color, the quilting really stands out.  Especially on her white backing.

I love to see all of the finished quilts when I'm done quilting them.  Sadly......they all have to go to their own homes.  But I know that every quilt that has ever been made has been loved by someone.