Lucky Charms Quilting, part 6

Can you believe we are on week six of the Lucky Charms quilt already?

I was honored to meet up with Pat Sloan at the Empire Quilt Guild Show in New York City this weekend. We were able to chat for a few minutes and get a quick photo taken.

So now I can show you how I quilted the green border on the quilt designed by the lovely and talented Pat Sloan!

First, I sectioned the border into 4-inch segments using chalk. Then I pulled out my Quilter's Preview Paper. I drew one swag in each section of the border. I had a petal idea for the corner and needed to see if it played well with the swags.

It did. I like when I get lucky with the first design. Now I am ready to quilt.

The thread:

Tutti, a 50-weight multi-color cotton from WonderFil, color TU 28 Lime.

InvisiFil in the bobbin

The tools:

Handi Quilter 4" Swag Templates

Handi Quilter Half-Circle Templates

Handi QuilterMini Scallop Ruler

Step 1: The Swag.

Step 2: The Corner.

Step Three: The background.

The finished border:

Doesn't that look great?

Last week, Barbara commented that she used the diamond design on one of her quilts. Has anyone else stitched these designs out? I would love to hear your success stories!

Next week I will show you how to quilt the black triangles.

If you have not seen the earlier videos, check them out:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Lucky Charms part 5

Free is good!

Would you like a free quilt pattern?

My dear quilty friend, Kim, is having a giveaway today. Sign up over at her blog.

Run. Now. Go!

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 9 yards
fabric used this year: 113.75 yards

Stash reduced by: 101.5 yards

I BROKE 100 YARDS!!!!!! I have over 100 less yards of fabric today than I did on January 1, and I can't see a bit of difference in my sewing room... sigh.

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Check out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Lucky Charms part 5

Start Spreading the News...

I am going to New York City this weekend. There are a lot of quilty things going on there this weekend.

I am going to The Empire Quilt Guild Show. I will be hanging out with the folks from the The Quilt Basket. They have a booth at the show. If you are going to be there, stop and say hi!

You should also check out Infinite Variety a huge red and white quilt exhibit at the Armory sponsored by the American Folk Art Museum. I am so sorry to have to miss that one.

Friday Finish -- Happy Quilt

I finally did it... I cut into my Happy Fabric Collection.

Every week, I work at a different quilt shop or quilt show. As you can imagine, the shopping can get out of control. I try to keep it in check, but sometimes fabric just follows me home. It might be a fat quarter or it might be a yard (or three!). I have a lot of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, as well as fabrics from Mark Lipinski and Joel Dewberry. The fabrics are not made to go together, but since they all make me happy, they have become my Happy Fabric Collection.

A year ago or so, I saw the New Wave patter on the Oh, Fransson! blog and knew this was the perfect quilt for my fabric collection. I started the quilt, and as usual, did not finish it.

Late yesterday afternoon, I realized that I had no finished quilt to show this Friday. New Wave was quilted, but the binding needed to be hand-stitched. I messaged my husband that it would be a great night to watch a movie or something. I stayed up past my bedtime, but this quilt is Finished by Friday:

A close-up of some of the quilting:

I have no idea what I am going to do with this quilt, but it is on display in my living room until I decide.

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

And remember to spend some time checking out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Lucky Charms part 5

Lucky Charms Quilting, part 5

This week, I get to show you how I quilted the little green triangles on my Lucky Charms quilt.

First, I pulled out my Quilter's Preview Paper and drew in some arcs to see how they looked:

I like it and am ready to quilt.

The thread:

Tutti, a 50-weight multi-color cotton from WonderFil, color TU 28 Lime.

InvisiFil in the bobbin

The needle: size 16

A view when finished:

Next week I will show you how to quilt the large green border.

If you missed any of the previous videos, check them out here:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Design Wall Monday

My design wall has looked the same for weeks:

I spent all of last week at the AQS Show in Lancaster, PA and did absolutely no stitching!

For your enjoyment, I took some photos of the quilt on my frame today:

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

For more quilting ideas, check out my quilting videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 8 yards
fabric used this year: 104.75 yards

Stash reduced by: 92.50 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Check out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Friday Finish -- Another Grandbaby Quilt

A couple of years ago, my friend and I took a quilt quilt class. I finally finished the quilt. I'm quick like that.

My son's girlfriend (who is now his wife) really wanted this as a baby quilt for the future. Well, it's the future. I'll put this in the pile with the other baby quilts. I'm ready whenever they are.

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

And remember to spend some time checking out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Lucky Charms part 4

Lucky Charms Quilting, part 4

Thanks for stopping by today. I absolutely can not wait to show you how I quilted the white border on my Lucky Charms quilt!

I knew I wanted to quilt diamonds, so I pounced one-inch lines in the border using a one-inch stencil and a Quilter's Pounce Pad.

The white powder does not show up very well on the white fabric, but I can see the marks on the green and orange fabrics quite well.

I pulled out my roll of Quilter's Preview Paper to see how single diamonds would look on the side border. I drew double diamonds in the top border. I think I like the double diamonds better.

Don't you?

Diamonds don not turn corners very well. Choosing a contrasting design, I drew a sunburst-type design in the corner. I think I like that one, too.

I am ready to quilt!

The quilting, part 4:

The thread:

I decided to be bold and try quilting with a colored thread on the white fabric. I chose Tutti, a 50-weight multi-color cotton from WonderFil, color TU 28 Lime.

Even though the thread has several shades of bright green in it, it looks almost solid against the white fabric. When I look at the quilting closely, though, I can see the richness of color in the thread. Delightful!

InvisiFil in the bobbin

The needle: size 16

I quilted the first pass of the double-diamond pattern:

Then I quilted the second pass of the double-diamond pattern:

Finally, the corner design:

The white border is finished!

Doesn't it look great?

Is anyone trying out these patterns at home? I would love to hear how the patterns are being used! Link to photos if you have them, please!

Sadly, I have to wait until next week to show how to quilt the little green triangles around the black and white rectangles.

Design Wall Monday

My design wall looks like this:

I can't see my design wall right now. I am setting up at the AQS Show in Lancaster, PA! If you possibly can, come and see this show. And come and say hi to me at the Handi Quilter booth.

If you can't come out to the show, you can spend some time checking out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Head on over to Judy's blog to see what everyone else is doing.

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 11.25 yards
fabric used this year: 96.75 yards

Stash reduced by: 84.5 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Check out my quilt videos:

Lucky Charms part 1

Lucky Charms part 2

Lucky Charms part 3

Friday Finish -- Adam's Quilt

My friend's son Adam graduated from high school last June and I only recently finished his quilt. Oops!

I added the extra blocks to the back of the quilt:

The pattern is Strip Cocktail and the fabric is all scrap! This is at least the third quilt that I've made from that pattern and I am sure I will make more

I added borders to the quilt since Adam is one rather tall young man.

The border and backing fabric were purchased during my trip to The Patchwork Company last fall with my friend John. I felt guilty purchasing so much fabric that day, but I had this quilt in mind. I had a few other quilts in mind as well, but they remain unfinished for now.

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Lucky Charms, Part 3

Are you ready to see the fun quilting I added to Lucky Charms this week?

I quilted all of the black and white print rectangles.



Since the prints are so busy, the quilting is not going to show up very much. I decided to quilt a simple X across each rectangle. Once again, I pulled out my Quilter's Preview Paper to see how it would look.



Once I drew all of the Xs, I noticed that they formed a channel between the rows of rectangles.



I know it is hard to see in the photo, but it will become more clear in a bit.

Never one to leave good enough alone, I decided that I wanted to quilt ribbon candy in each channel. Back to the Quilter's Preview Paper:



It is easier to see if I take the Quilter's Preview Paper off of the fabric.



I love it!

The quilting, part 3:
The thread: Spagetti, a yummy 12-weight cotton from WonderFil, color sp33 Fresh Lime
InvisiFil in the bobbin

The needle: size 20, since this is a very thick thread

I stitched in the diamonds first using the HQ Mini Ruler.



And then I filled in those channels with ribbon candy.

I love the way this quilting turned out, mostly because it was a surprise. I did not realize the Xs would form a channel. I was also surprised that when I quilted the ribbon candy, the diamonds popped off the quilt.

Next week I will tackle the white border. Come back and check it out!

Sunday Stash Report

fabric purchased this week: 0 yards
fabric purchased this year: 12.25 yards
fabric used this week: 9.5 yards
fabric used this year: 85.5 yards

Stash reduced by: 73.25 yards

Head on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Friday finish -- Grandbaby Quilt

I have no grandchildren and I need to stress that my son and his wife ARE NOT EXPECTING. I repeat: there are no babies on the way!

Having said that, I can find no reason not to make quilts for my non-existent grandbabies.

I made a new sample of my Too Hip to Be Square pattern using Bear Essentials from P & B Textiles.

Won't this quilt be a perfect floor quilt for when my future grandbabies come to play at my house?

I thought so, too.

Some close-ups of the quilting:

I chose bright orange thread for the entire quilt because, hey, why not?

And in case you weren't paying attention at the beginning of this post, I'll say one more time: I am not expecting to become a grandmother any time soon. No babies. Got it? I don't want to start getting phone calls about this.

Check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Lucky Charms Quilting: part 2

Hurray! Today I get to show you how I quilted the orange borders on my Lucky Charms quilt.



I thought about quilting swirls. Since the border finishes at one inch, I used a one-inch stencil and a Quilter's Pounce Pad to divide the border into one-inch squares.



I thought that it would look nice if I quilted a swirl in each square, but I like to be certain before I start quilting. I pulled out a roll of Quilter's Preview Paper and drew out the design.



Yep, I like it. Ready to quilt?

The quilting, part 2:

The thread: Spotlight from WonderFil, color 7713 Light Rust, InvisiFil in the bobbin
The needle: size 16



Isn't that thread gorgeous?

I quilted all of the orange borders with swirls. Here's a photo of part of the quilt:

Next week, I will quilt the black and white rectangles.

I can not wait!