This Christmas tree skirt came from a pattern published by Susan Rand and Paula Kemperman and measures approximately 45″. I machine pieced and hand quilted this one in 1989 or thereabouts — I can’t remember! 😉
Category: Hand Quilting
Teatime
In April, 2003, our local quilt guild had its annual show, and the judge for that show came here from the Phoenix area. In the course of discussion, she mentioned that she designs patterns and that one might appeal to me, since it was in blues and was teapots — she’d discovered that I love tea. She was right, too! The blocks are all blue work and, while I don’t normally do hand embroidery, even I can handle stem stitch. 😉 The patterns were originally available as a block of the month designed by Valerie Boman and and Debbie Foley (Cotton Pickin’ Designs). I had some fabric on hand for the borders; I’d bought it some time ago with no idea what I was going to use it for. But it was just about perfect for this project, since it has teapots, cups and saucers, jugs and little flowers all over it. The quilt is hand embroidered, machine pieced and hand quilted. It measures approximately 40″ x 45″, and I finished it in March, 2005.
Steph’s Quilt
This quilt was machine pieced and hand quilted as a gift for my younger daughter’s best friend (since eighth grade) when they graduated from high school in 1994. Stephanie lived on a ranch, which is the source of the theme here. The black and white fabric says “moo” all over. The quilting pattern I chose was the livestock brand Steph’s family used on the ranch. The quilt is approximately 28″ square.
Schoolhouses
Our two daughters graduated from college with degrees in elementary education, one in December, 1996, and the other in May, 1997. I made these small (20″ x 20″) wall hangings for them to use in their classrooms. As usual for the time when I made these, they are machine pieced and hand quilted. They are identical except for the figures in the doorway of each school, figures taken from a toile fabric I had. The apples in the borders were essential for teachers, don’t you think? Since that time, while our elder daughter has continued as an outstanding middle-school math teacher, our younger daughter branched out into a different career in financial planning.
Round the Twist
This quilt was finished in early 1992, approximately two years after beginning it (two years is a long time; that’s another reason why I haven’t made many large quilts!). This was the first project I hand quilted as a whole, rather than lap quilting (though I machine pieced), mainly because the rows were set on the bias and I was afraid of stretching the quilt. Each of the larger, plain blocks has a feathered wreath quilted into it. This one measures 85″ x 99″.
Rolling Star Quilt
In January, 2000, I took a class from Jodi Barrows, using her Square in a Square techniques to make this star quilt. It was machine pieced and hand quilted. I know some people think this technique might be difficult because of the many bias edges, but I found it quick and easy — if you’ve starched the fabric first to prevent the otherwise inevitable stretching! It measures 35 1/2″ x 46 1/2″.
Pieced Hearts
This quilt (35″ square) is machine pieced and hand quilted. I learned the technique for doing this from a class with Moneca Calvert at Quilt Camp in the Pines in the summer of 2000. The quilt presented a couple of challenges for me. First, I had to learn to do the curved piecing. Second, I couldn’t find a ready-made feathered-heart template in the right size for the quilting, so I had to learn how to draft my own. That was made much simpler thanks to Marianne Fons’ book, Fine Feathers. All of that was worth it, though, when the quilt won third place in its category in our local show in 2001. 🙂
Nicole’s Graduation Quilt
This was the first of the photo quilts I made. It was made in 1992 for my elder daughter’s high school graduation and includes her graduation photos (one on the back), a baby picture, and a cheerleading photo. The wall hanging was intended as a surprise, but you know how that goes! It’s about 42″ square and was machine pieced and hand quilted.
My First Quilt
This is not really white on white; it’s white and off-white. This was my first quilt, and I made the blocks from patterns and techniques in a Georgia Bonesteel book. The sampler consists of twelve 12″ machine-pieced and hand-quilted blocks, each with a 3″ sashing hand quilted with cables, making it 54″ x 72″. At one point, my scissors slipped, so my initials are free-motion machine embroidered in one corner to cover the slip. I lap quilted each block and then put them all together, finishing in 1985, when the quilt won a blue ribbon at our county fair.
Here is a slightly better photo, taken at a quilt show that spotlighted members’ first quilts.
My First Appliquéed Quilt
I’ve been intimidated by and interested in appliqué for a long time. I finally screwed up my courage and machine appliquéed this quilt in 1995. I used a pattern for most of the dogs, but I designed the Doberman myself and made other changes that would reflect the dogs I’ve known and loved. They are in an Attic Windows setting to give them their own spaces. The dogs are echo quilted by hand, and they have a supply of dog biscuits quilted in the borders. The pattern I used was called “Family Dogs,” created by Critter Pattern Works, and the quilt is roughly 45″ x 44″.
