The Last Year or so.....

It's been quite a while since last blogging and SO much has happened.

I have quilting some amazing quilts over the past year and am constantly humbled by the talent we have in this part of NZ.

We lost a dear friend in the quilting world on March 20 2011. Kris Jemison lost her battle with cancer, but before she did we were able to make her this gift of love. The Grey Valley Patchwork members made colourful star blocks which were pieced together and quilted. The quilt was laid over her casket at the funeral. We shared a caravan at quilting retreats and I miss her!

Last year I went to the Houston Quilt Show in November and was totally overwhelmed by the size of it (a whole city block, and 2 1/2 floors high). To give you some idea of the size of the convention area, the building housed 7000 evacuees during Hurricane Katrina.

I took multiple classes and learned some great techniques, including this mixed media paper cloth. I am teaching the technique in Reefton at the annual West Coast quilters retreat in July.

It was also fun to meet many of the quilting celebrities we only see in books!

Paper Cloth combines fabric and paper using PVA or Gel Medium and can be painted, dyed, stitched, embellished, textured, sprayed, stuffed......

So versatile, and I get to use some of the bling and found objects I've been collecting forever!

Here a just a few customer quilts completed over the last few months:

This is a gorgeous batik diamond quilt made in Karamea.

I freehand quilted feathers up and down it.



Below is a baby quilt completed using Pam Clarke's design with lines method.

A hand appliqued quilt that I outlined quilted and added a feather border. You should have seen the hand work on this, it was perfect!
Well done, Kath.



Happy stitching!!

An entry for the Longarm Conference

A customer was kind enough to loan me her quilt to take to the Longarm Conference in Cambridge for the display.

I really went to town on this and tried all those new techniques and designs I'd been learning about and seeing for a while. This quilt is perfectly pieced by it's owner and had lots of empty space to play in.

I told you June was busy!

I could only upload half my photos on the last blog post, so here's some more.

My quilting studio has just been doubled in size with the removal of a silly wall that someone put up to make 2 bedrooms. My studio is now so cool I am sometimes jealous of myself! It is also cool in the fact it's the coldest part of the house - a cool 5degC this morning in fact. Brrrr! One good thing is there is no sun fading on the quilts - always have to look for the positives.

June Quilts

June was a very busy quilting month and I have a few photos of some of the many quilts I worked on. I was able to try out gold metallic thread which worked a treat, I attempted and conquered my first bargello and perfected McTavishing!

This month I am quilting a wholecloth for the first time with my own design - butterflies on black.

The NZ Longarm conference is on in Cambridge June 24-27th which will be another inspiring event and opportunity to meet with other longarmers in NZ. There is always a few overseas tutors at these conferences who have had years of experience. Can't wait to pick their brains - and steal their ideas!! No, they're all willing to share their secrets every time. :)

Handy hints for preparing a quilt for professional quilting.

If you are thinking of sending a quilt top to a professional longarm quilter, and are wondering what you can do to make sure you get the best possible result, I have some suggestions for you here.



Quilt Top:
1. The quilt top should be relatively square and the borders should lie flat. To avoid fullness in your border, measure through the centre of your quilt top, cut a strip of border fabric to that measurement, then pin to the body of the quilt and sew. Do not cut a long strip for the border and then sew as the top fabric will ‘walk’ and you will have wavy borders.
2. Clip loose threads and press quilt top well with seams lying flat in the proper direction and no tucks. This is especially important for in- the- ditch quilting.
3. Stay-stitch 1/8” from outer edge of quilt top if there are any biases or pieced edges, or thin fabrics. This stabilises the edges, helps keep the quilt square, and protects it from the pull of the machine rollers.


Backing:
1. Backs should be approximately 4” larger than the quilt top on all sides, squared and pressed.
2. Backing seams should have all selvedges removed, with a ½-1” seam allowance pressed open. Bed sheets are too thin for the machine tension to work properly and may not wear well.

I have a large selection of wide backings here, and a good selection of battings including black.

I hope you are making the most of the cold days enjoying your sewing, take care.

More from the Pink Possum!

This is the back of a bright batik quilt I quilted with a lizard pantograph pattern in a variegated thread. It looked fabulous!

Part of the front of that bright batik quilt. I so want to make one of these now......

A gorgeous rose quilt that I quilted entirely freehand. I was rapt with the way it turned out, and so was the customer :)

This cute blue quilt was custom quilted in a very fine heirloom thread and each block deserved it's own special quilting to bring out it's best. This was a fun quilt to quilt, and admire. I love those 2 little 'love' birds at the bottom.

This is a Jinny Beyer kitset called "Moonglow". It is spectacular and the patchworker said she didn't foundation piece the stars, they're all normal pieced. I couldn't believe it, they were so accurate. I stitched in every ditch on this as I didn't want to compete with the patchwork.

I am humbled the way quilters trust me with their quilts and I attempt to make each one special as if it were my own.

Some Recent Quilts

This quilt was made by Pat Middleton's mother in the 70's, and the fabrics in it are much older than that, being remnants from a clothing factory. It was a joy to quilt examining all the old fabrics and being thankful fashions have changed! It was quilted with an allover pattern called 'feather frenzy'

This quilt was made by Kath O'Donoghue using her own hand dyed fabrics. It was quilted in a variegated thread in an allover pattern called 'paisley playtime'.

This is the first time I have quilted a trapunto quilt, and I may be addicted now!

It was easier than I first expected and I loved the result.

It is quilted in 'sew fine' an heirloom quality, fine thread, all freehand.