Christmas Quilt Final Reveal

It's done!  The first king-sized quilt I've quilted on my APQS George!  This quilt was so satisfying to work on.  I like to try different techniques on each quilt, and I sure got a lot of practice hours in on this one!

I used a free-hand all-over holly leaf design in the center of this one, but followed a diagonal grid versus the random meandering holly leaf design I used in the previous Christmas quilt (here).  I didn't count them all, but that's a lot of holly leaves.

I used a twisted rope design in the inner border, and straight lines/piano keys in the outer border.

Thanks to the Quilt Suspension System I installed, this 104" square quilt was a joy to work on.

I used a pattern called Wander Through the Woods by Hope Nelson, but I enlarged both the size and number of the trees and added borders to scale it up to a king size.

So that is the last of the quilts I committed to finishing before Christmas.  Now I can enjoy the season and start a new project.

Merry Christmas!

The Last Christmas Quilt

I've been busy quilting the last Christmas Quilt on my list for this year.  I was afraid I wouldn't get them all finished in time, but it looks like I'll have time to spare for a change!

I really don't know why I was so nervous about quilting a king-size quilt on George, because it's going really well.  I still prefer making smaller quilts, but this is very do-able on this monster of a machine.  I'm really enjoying the quilting process and if all goes well, I should finish quilting it this weekend, so check back soon for pictures of the finished quilt.

Merry & Bright

I am happy to report that the Quilt Suspension System I wrote about in my last post worked great for this large quilt!  It's amazing how much easier it is to maneuver a large quilt when the bulk of it is held out of the way with the clamps.  This quilt is 84" square, and I quilted it with an all-over freehand holly leaf design.  The quilting is very dense (used 15 bobbins) and it gives the quilt an amazing texture.  My DIL started this quilt about 10 years ago, and finally asked me to finish it for her, just to get it done.  It was a perfect opportunity to practice doing a relatively large quilt, so now I feel ready to start my next challenge - 104" square!  That's only an extra 20", right?  Piece 'o cake!!! (I hope!!!)

Quilt Suspension System

I made another change to my Quilting Setup for my APQS George machine.  I added a Quilt Suspension System behind him.

I have seen several variations of this on the internet, and since George's table is only 24" deep, there's not alot of space for a big quilt behind the machine.  That's fine on a smaller quilt, but this one is 86" square, so I thought this would be a good time to try it out.  It's amazing how much of a difference this makes!  I leave enough slack in the quilt so that it moves freely, and adjust it as I move from one area to the next.

I followed these instructions from Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry at Bryerpatch Studio.  I did not use the upright posts, since I have exposed ceiling joists above me in my basement studio, I just screwed the eye screws directly into the joists.

When this quilt is done, the next one on my list is 104" square, and now I'm confident that this system will reallly help make these big quilts more manageable.

If you are interested in trying a suspension system, but would rather purchase something ready-to-install, Patsy Thompson has two different versions available for purchase in her on-line shop.  Click here for more information.

Christmas Quilts Continued

Wow, I'm really behind on posting pictures of the Christmas Quilts I'm working on this year.

I have finished Quilt #2...  (click here for more information about this quilt)  I quilted this one on my APQS George, using an all-over spiral swirl freehand design...

...and I just finished the quilting on Christmas Quilt #3 today - on my George too, of course!  The red binding is made and ready to attach next.

I used a light aqua SoFine #50 thread and quilted it with closely spaced wavy lines going horizontally across the quilt.  I love the texture it creates.  And the snowflake fabric for the back is a great match for the quilt.

I also finished piecing the top of Christmas Quilt #4.  At 104" x 104", this quilt is a king size, so I am curious to see how it goes on my George machine.  I'm sure the machine is up to the challenge - not sure about the operator...

Wander Through The Woods

I have another Christmas Quilt on my work table this week.  I'm using this Wander Through The Woods pattern.  The pattern uses 2 1/2" strips, but I cut my strips at 4" wide to make the quilt king-sized, at my daughter's request.  She is aware of the quilt, and provided most of the fabrics in it, so it's not a huge secret, but I still don't want to reveal too much of the quilt just yet.  She needs a little surprise when Christmas gets here, assuming I get it done that is...

I have all my strips made...

...and have this huge pile of trimmed off triangles left over.

I bet there's enough there to make another small quilt!  Part of me says "throw them in the trash" because after all - what are the odds that I'll actually get around to doing something with them...  But then I look at all these pretty little triangles and the wheels start turning...

Art Quilt Exhibit

There is a Juried Art Quilt Exhibit at the Gmeiner Art and Cultural Center here in Wellsboro.  One of my quilts has been accepted, along with quilts from several of my quilting friends in the area.  The opening reception is this Friday October 6th from 5pm-7pm and the exhibit runs through October 29th.  Please come and see all the quilts!

Here is a sneak peek at my quilt, called "Interleave Vase".

I have wanted to make an Interleave quilt for quite a while now, so this was the perfect opportunity to try something new.  The fall colors in this quilt are so much more brilliant in person - hope to see you at the show!