Thread Choices

I have been reading Gina Perkes  book "Mastering the Art of Longarm Quilting" during my tea breaks from my Grandson.
Great book and in chapter devoted to "Gotta Love Thread" she state that it is not necessary to match top and bobbin threads.  I haven't been for quite a while so it is good to have this confirmed.
 She then goes on to say that she likes Light Grey, Medium Gray, off-white, tan, medium brown, taupe and black as her bobbin colours.  "These colors accommodate and blend nicely with just about any color".
Further on she says that she uses a fantastic product called Magna-glide bobbins.

So off I went to "the shop"
Magna Glide Classics  L size 132yds of 60 wt polyester threads
Light Grey
Lead Grey
Cream
Light Tan
Black



Maybe I need to ask Filtec to look at getting a Taupe  and  Medium Brown colour in Classics as well.

My Daughter's Wedding Dress

 I have taken a few days off from quilting to work on making my daughter's wedding dress.

Found that if I raised my machine to its highest point, then I could use the 60" cutting mat on my back table to cut all 43 pieces out.

The frame itself then came in very handy as a clothes horse.

I can now say that after three days of sewing I have the whole dress in one piece, the last seams are only basted in case I have to do some major changes.  Now I can take it on a 1500km  road trip to my daughter's this week for a fitting.

Then once I get back home put in a zip, finish the bodice edges, hem the lining, the dress and the overdress.

Then I can start on my outfit and also a top for the granddaughter with some of the leftovers.

Still doable  - just a bit more difficult since my grandson will come back with me so my daughter can finish her wedding preparations without four year old tantrums.

APQS are giving away another longarm machine.

The Great APQS Longarm Giveaway 

Have you dreamed of owning an APQS longarm quilting machine? What about a longarm machine with an automated quilting system? Here’s your chance at both!

APQS is giving away a Lucey longarm machine equipped with Quilt Path, our computerized quilting system. This is our biggest giveaway yet with a value of $21,900!!!

And that’s not all! Every month, one lucky entrant will receive an APQS Quilting Gift Basket full of thread, patterns and other great APQS goodies.

We will select a grand prize winner at random during the week of Dec. 16, 2013. The winner will be notified via phone. Enter once a day for your chance to win.

There is no purchase necessary to enter or participate. Registration period ends at 11:59 a.m. CST on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013.

Must be 18 years of age to win.

If you would like a chance to win this then head over to www.apqs.com

Pandemonium Completed

After four days and almost 1500m of thread there is one very happy quilt owner in Gatton this evening.

As I have to make my daughter's wedding dress I delivered it this afternoon.  I did not  count all the circles and I didn't ask the owner how many there were.  I will find out when it hangs at our State Quilt Show in two months.


I need to get a longer rod for this wall if I am going to take photos of finished quilts on it. This quilt was 90" x 90" and larger than my rod and longer than my wall.

The owner took 9 months and 1 week to piece and applique this beauty.  After all that time a quilt she no longer wanted to see again, is being petted, loved and admired all over again.

Congratulations GC it was a huge task but I enjoyed the challenge.

Pandemonium Day 3

Another 70 blocks completed and I can now see the end of the quilt.  I have rolled the quilt all the way on and quilted the last row even, so I could make sure everything was keeping straight.  The owner keeps checking on Facebook and says it is looking good so that is what really counts.

So 28 blocks to finish on Wednesday.  Which means I am starting to sew my daughter's wedding dress on Thursday.   That gives me just under three weeks to get it finished, and her quilt, and my own skirt...... Doable.  :)

Mini Pumpkin Choc Chip Muffins

Found this recipe on a US quilter's blog, so had to change up the ingredients to suit Australian cooking.

Pumpkin Choc Chip Muffins

125gms softened butter and ¾ cup sugar , creamed together.

Add 2 eggs add mix.

Add 450grams cooked mashed pumpkin, cool and drain off extra liquid.  Mix thoroughly.

Add 1 ¾ cups SR flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp cloves (all ground).

Then ¾ cup choc chips.

Spray mini muffin tins and bake at 170 °C for 15 minutes.

The quilters on my bus trip  to the V&A quilt exhibition certainly enjoyed them.

Pandemonium Day Two

64 blocks completed today.  That takes me close to 40% of it quilted.  It will now be three days until I  get back to it.

This was the largest block for today before I quilted it.  Forgot to take a pic with my camera before I rolled it on.
If  I could work out how to get photos from my phone to the computer it would be handy.

This was the second largest block for today. It has 133 quilted circles on it,  Was even brave enough that I videoed myself with my  phone and posted it on my facebook page.
Love the Glide feature of my machine and the Bliss wheels too.  One hand quilting while I was videoing.

Pick Up Sticks?

They look a bit like pick up sticks,  but really they are the cut offs from a birthday present my Father in Law gave me over 7 years ago.

It would be nice to think that this blank wall would be filled before I get back from a quick trip to Melbourne with

more thread racks.  This will take the total on the walls to close to 400 cones or King Spools.

No direct sunlight gets to this corner of my room, plus I keep them all stored in cellophane bags to stop the dust.  I love looking at all the different choices  of colour I have.

Pandemonium Day One

Day one of Kim McLeans Pandemonium quilt for a customer.  This quilt is 90"x90" largest background area is about 6square inches.  Lots of teeny tiny applique.  Bright colours from the same customer who did Flowerpots.  40 blocks quilted, have no idea how many more to do.

Everything Old is New again

I had the opportunity yesterday to visit a display of quilts from the "prestigious London Victoria & Albert Museum" on display here in Brisbane Australia.

The Australian Museum in Canberra has also allowed the "Rajah Quilt" to be displayed for the duration.  This quilt is very significant to Australian Quilters.

No pictures are allowed so sorry can't show you anything.  My pages of scribbled diagrams don't do it justice either.  

BUT can you imagine an almost 60 year sitting on the floor in front of a 1725 coverlet that was equisitely emboidered with back stitches that would make any machine quilter or longarmer drool.  The feathers 1/4" wide in wonderful formations of Dianne Gaudynski's vases, Jamie Wallen flurries etc.

Freehanded baptist fan type spirals like Angela Walters, Judy Madsen only 1/4" apart.

No they are not new ideas we are now using, it was hard to believe the top is almost 300 years old.

Security hovered close by but I think they might be used to people propping and drooling.

No Feathers

This is part of a Rita Verocca pattern that my customer started ina class with her last year.  She has completed it for a challenge with the LQS. It cried out for feathers, but she didn' t want them.