New M'nM APQS wheels

I decided to shout my longarm machine some new wheels.  I have had Edgeriders on it for 18months, and thought it was time I bought the new wheels that APQS now have for their machines.

I was sceptical and did not think they would make much of a difference.

I was wrong.  They make a huge difference to how easily the machine moves on the table.  I had no trouble before stitching feathers, they are now just so much easier to do.

The first quilt I loaded after my husband put the new wheels on was for a customer who wanted flurry of feathers on a hand pieced hexagon quilt.

I really like this quilt top.  Green and beige hexagons stitched together randomly.  There was only one paper left in the back.  Usually there are more.

The feathers quilted easily and smoothly and I enjoyed myself quilting for a longer time than I would normally quilt, as my machine seemed to be working with me.

2011 EKKA Quilts Across Queensland

I entered three of my Quilts in the EKKA this year.  I enter the quilts so everyone else can look at them.  They are not made specifically for a show, just made for me and I share!

Over the River, which was the Champion at Toowoomba show came second in the Representative Quilts Class.

Spring Diamond and Serenstar both came third in their classes.  Now I will have some more pretty rosettes for my wall.
This quilt top is looking really great with all these ribbons.

Quilting Makes a Difference

Another customer quilt that will be given to a granddaughter.  I thought I would show a before and after picture so you could see the difference that custom quilting makes to a block.

This is the before shot.  I need to pin any unquilted areas as I roll the quilt so that they don't form puckers.

This is the after photo with a background fill behind the kimono girls.  There was also some stitching across the applique as thes girls were quite large.  Without it they puffed up.

I also put a cherry blossom and leaf background fill  behind the butterflies.

The early morning sun through my bedroom window is a good light to photograph with but I get the shadows of the window frames.

Customer Tractor Quilt

It seems most young boys enjoy tractors at some time.  I have just finished  custom quilting a customers quilt for her son.  I think you can guess his name.

I don't know whether he will see the humour in this fabric.

Of course I had to find someplace to put more tractors. 

More photos of the APQS swap quilt

This is the whole quilt, you can see some of the texture that the quilting gives it.

This is a bug I learnt to do in a class with Irena Bluhm at Houston last year.  These are in the alternate side setting triangles.

This the back of the quilt, it is a cream sateen and shows up the different coloured bobbin threads I used.

This is a picture of the detail of the feathers within each diamond block.

APQS Spring 2010 Block Swap

I belong to the APQS forum chat group.  We regularly have swaps where members make a number of blocks which are sent to a central point collated and them forwarded on to other participants.  Last year I received eleven 12 1/2" blocks.

I put them into a diamond setting so that I could enter it in my State Guild challenge for this year.

I have started quilting it, but had to stop as I couldn't leave work waiting to be done.  It will be finished and bound by the 21st July as I have entered it in a show!

I am also trying to quilt it along the theme of  Diamonds!  The lattice is on the wrong angle - they are diamonds.

Cold Start to the Day

 Today was the first frost for this year, and the first time I have had to put the heater on of a morning.  30 minutes was enough to warm up the family room.  Even the pizza oven had a little bit sitting on the top!

The Automatic weather Station said it was only 3.5 degrees centigrade, but that was under the terrace.  Didn't take long once the sun came up for it to warm up.