Judy's Craftsy 2012 BOM Quilt

This one was SO MUCH FUN to quilt! Judy took the 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month class at Craftsy.com 

I was the lucky quilter to get to quilt it!!!  

Are you ready for some pictures?

First off - it is in Green.... I love Green... and I love Orange and Pink and Blue.... oh my - I Love them all!

I echoed the Hexagons in this block.

And put some pebbles in the dresden plate.

And did a lot of Swirlies all over,

In the spiderweb we did some straight line quilting - to highlight the pebbles in the center of it.

And generally had a really great time quilting it!

Added a little feather or two...

I couldn't choose my favorite block - but this one came real close!!

Thank Judy - for allowing me to quilt your quilt!! I sure enjoyed myself! And - well - I sort of wish I didn't have to give it back!!!

A Show Quilt

HMQS  is a Quilt Show in Salt Lake City - and this year they had a Veterans Challenge Quilt entry.... so I entered!  I haven't really ever done anything like this challenge before, so it really, truly, was a challenge!

You sent in a little bit of money - they sent you back a pack of fabrics, and a batting, and a requirement to make a 60 x 72 inch quilt. With the fabrics they sent, and up to two ( I think) more.

So.. I did!  But it was a challenge to me. First I had to "see" the quilt... I couldn't decide on a design, I couldn't decide on a level of difficulty... decisions!!! Tough!

I set my goal of choosing the pattern design to be done in January, Fabrics to be cut in February, Quilt to be pieced by February 28th, quilting to be done by March 15th, and binding and shipping to be done by March 30th... you know that was the one I procrastinated on right?

My quilt is there, my quilt is waiting for the show to start in May... here is my next question....

Are you supposed to blog about show quilts before they get shown in the show?
Aren't you supposed to remain anonymous to the judges?  ( Not like I am a celebrity or anything LOL)

I notice that some people blog about their finished quilt before it is in the show - okay? or not?

Since this is a judged competition - I think that for now my goal will be to show it to you in May - after the show is over.... deal?

Although.... do you want a sneak peek?

Proof it was bound...... 

and Proof it was quilted.....

Quilting Machines

I get asked this a lot - What kind of Machine do you have? And What should I get?

First off - if any of you have heard me talk at guilds, you will know that I NEVER seem to do things the "right" way..... so I am not sure that the way I went about purchasing my machine is the best.

But I do know - that I LOVE it!!  I have a Nolting Pro 24 - and it is a workhorse - seriously! It just keeps going and going!

As with every machine, maintenance is required, and recently my baby had to go get maintained. While it was out, I had a chance to quilt on a different brand of machine. This one was different. Not wrong, and maybe perfect for someone else....

But I do have to admit - you sort of get into a routine with your machine, and anything different - is , well, different.

I did like the other machine. It was easy to run, it had great buttons. The handles were not set the way I have mine set, and because it wasn't my machine I was not going to move them. I did decide this was a great feature though. One I would make sure every machine has - the ability to move the handles they way you need them.

It was actually a larger machine - it had a 30 inch arm, and I thought - Wow - I bet I will really like this, and be able to quilt so much faster... truth is - Nope... still took me the same time. I also found out, that I am not a fan of that much throat space. Even being tall - I had a really hard time reaching out that far, so I didn't- I only rolled the part of the quilt I could reach.

My recommendation about buying a longarm machine - go try them out - seriously. It is an investment, and you do want to make sure the thing fits you, and you like how it runs.

Ask questions. Check the throat/arm space - see how far you can reach - comfortably. Make sure you can adjust the things like the handles, lights, speeds etc - anything you think you might use when quilting. Check the thread guides, make sure you can reach them.

Do you think you will be changing thread a lot? - then you want this to be easy and user friendly.  My Nolting is so easy to change threads - its crazy easy. I love it.

Have fun looking, and trying them out. You might even look into renting time on some different models, this way you would get the real *action*. You might find out - you like sending quilts out to be quilted better. You might find you Love the Longarm part of it just as much.

It's an open world out there - have fun exploring!