Apple Core Quilt Top......18 Rows Done

Progress Report:

Apple Core Quilt Top

Click Images to Enlarge:

18 Rows Done

80 x 60 inches so far...

I started this Apple Core Quilt top a year ago.

It takes 12 hours to complete a row...

Cutting time, marking seam lines, piecing the row, then adding the row to the quilt top.

216 Hours so far...

This is my Take-A-Long Quilt

I only work on this when we are traveling down the road at 55 mph

Piecing while traveling is "Found Time"

I never would have pieced this at home by machine, but traveling in a car with lots of time on my hands......this is perfect!

Today I assembled 10 more rows to sew...

Luckily we are traveling next week.....yeah~!

CLICK HERE to view Tutorial

CLICK HERE to view Grandmothers Flower Garden Quilt

CLICK HERE to view Clam Shell Quilt

CLICK HERE to view Winding Ways

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Moose Lodge........Quilting the Border

One thing left to do.....Quilt the Border

Click Images to Enlarge:

Auditioning Border Threads

I want something blendy, not high contrast.

YLI Variations FAWN

It has a very subtle color change.....just what I want.

Border Quilting

I decided to stick with meandering lines in a North to South direction.

There is a lot of curvy quilting in the center of the quilt.

I thought gentle, sweeping lines of quilting in the border would quiet this down and give your eyes a place to rest when viewing the quilt.

Another relaxing day of simple stitched lines.

Very therapeutic and fun.

Ready for the binding...

Back Side of Moose Lodge......Flannel Fabric

The 60 wt Bottom Line thread was perfect in the bobbin.

It blends in nicely with the background fabric, and there is no thread build up.

This was a pleasure to quilt. I thought of my Uncle Charlie as I relaxed and stitched away on his quilt. I am anxious to visit him next month and surprise him with Moose Lodge.

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

Moose Lodge.......Quilting the MOOSE

Time to Quilt the Moose...

Click to Enlarge:

I was tempted to do lots of threadplay on these guys....nah!

I chose a simple line of stitching following the silhouette of the moose.

After all, I think there are 12 of these guys in the borders.

Threadwork would have taken days!

I started at the top of the front leg, on the edge.

I followed the shape of the leg down to the hoof.

Then I went back up the other side of the leg.

I inlined all four legs, then echo quilted back over to where I started.

Then I just echo quilted the lines moving in a North to South direction.

The moose are heavily quilted, it added texture, and didn't take very long.

The moose come in all shapes and sizes on this quilt.

Even this tall skinny moose quilted up nicely in the same manner as above.

She who is lazy.....pays for it later!

My rule of thumb is to clean out the bobbin area between every new bobbin.

It has become a habit.....but for some reason...today.....I didn't do it.

It came back to haunt me!

I started breaking bobbin thread. I re-threaded the bobbin and re-threaded the top several times, but it kept breaking.

I took off the throat plate and what a mess!

That heavy YLI Green Variegated thread really built up a lot of lint in just a few hours.

Look at that linty mess in the bobbin area!

It was creating a tangled mess out of the bobbin thread and causing it to break!

I work more with trilobal polyester threads anymore, which don't have lint build up.

I forgot just how fuzzy those heavy cotton threads can be!

Learned my lesson.......clean out after every bobbin!

This little flashlight lives in the drawer next to the sewing machine.

It comes in handy when I need to see underneath into the bobbin area.

Quilting the Border Background Next...

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

May Your Bobbin Always Be CLEAN and Full,

LuAnn

Moose Lodge.....Getting ready to Quilt

Wow....I can't believe this is finally going under the needle!

I pieced this a few years back.

It has been basted for more than a year...

Click Images to Enlarge:

Moose Lodge

We are headed for California next month.

This quilt will be riding along with us.

It is a gift for my Uncle Charlie.

Give yourself a deadline.........and projects get finished!

Moose Lodge has a gorgeous flannel fabric on the back side with caribou and bears on it. The fabric is gorgeous......but flannel is awful to quilt.....it is kind of sticky!

I spray the entire quilting surface (tables) with silicone spray.

The sticky flannel fabric will slide beautifully across the tables now.

If you haven't tried silicone, you owe it to yourself to get some.

(Don't spray it on your quilt, just on the tables your quilt rests on during machine quilting).

Auditioning Bobbin Threads

I am leaning toward the dark brown for the bobbin thread.

This is a 60 wt. Bottom Line thread.....it will just melt into the flannel.

Auditioning Top Threads

There are so many colors going on here...

Most any thread will work.

Mettler 50 wt. Cotton, YLI Variations Polyester, Bottom Line 60 wt. Polyester

I have narrowed it down to these...

The Green YLI Variegated thread keeps calling to me.

I think it will tie in nicely with the trees in the borders.

This is a very heavy thread. It will show up, even with all the plaid fabrics.

This 40 wt. thread is more like a heavy 12 wt.

Thread Stand

This HUGE spool of Green Variegated thread sits nicely on the thread stand on the back of the sewing machine. The thread will feed perfectly off the big spool thanks to the tall thread stand. Big cones of thread like to feed off the top.

I can't remember what kind of needle I last used in my machine?

I keep a magnifying glass in the drawer next to the machine.

I can easily read the size on the side of the needle.

Big thread needs a needle with a BIG EYE

My two favorites:

Organ Titanium Size 14

Schmetz Topstitch Size 14

Ready for a full day of machine quilting...

I will check back later and show you my progress!

p.s. Even after a year....the basting spray is holding this together nicely...

May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

Cattle Quilt Done.....Day 3 Final Post

Day 3 Cattle Quilt.......Final Post

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2:00 Machine Quilting Complete

3 Bobbins and 3 Hours later......the Quilting is DONE

Blocked

The quilt has been blocked and is now ready to be trimmed and bound.

Back of Cattle Quilt

Love the pine cones on the back of the quilt.

The Bottom Line Thread blended in beautifully.

The person this quilt is intended for, grew up in pine tree country.

Trimmed and ready for Binding

Binding Strips sewn on Diagonal

See my previous post for a tutorial on this method.

The diagonal seam distributes the bulk of the seam.

There is no bulk in the seam area when you roll the binding around the edge of the quilt.

Binding Technique

A coffee can on the floor catches the pressed binding strip.

Binding Strips

They are easily transported from the pressing area over to the sewing area.

Binding the Quilt

Yes, that is Suzy the little Quilting Doggie asleep under the sewing machine.

I place the coffee can between my feet....the binding feeds flawlessly onto the quilt surface.....works every time!

Binding Tin

I have been using this little tin can to hold my binding supplies for more than 20 years.

I found it at a garage sale.......full of hair pins. I use the pins to secure the binding around to the front side of the quilt while I am hand stitching.

It is now 3:30 and I am heading into the house to get a bite to eat and begin hand stitching the binding to the back side of the quilt.

As of now I have about 17 hours into this quilt. I am fortunate that it was a simple quilt, with big pieces (I designed it as I went along), and I chose a simple quilting motif with no thread changes. I had a 3 day window of opportunity to work on this quilt.

Why did I show you so much of the process?

When I began quilting over 22 years ago.......I struggled and struggled and struggled.

We all have a starting point.....we were all beginners at one time.

This post has been for all of the beginners out there.

Learn and make many quilts to keep your loved ones cozy.

May Your Life be Filled with Quilts,

LuAnn

To see my New Work CLICK HERE

To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE

To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE

To see Tutorials CLICK HERE