Terry Quilter N' More

Paparazzi Collection

2012-01-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

It didn't take long for me to cute into my newest fabric collection by Red Rooster called "Paparazzi". I simply loved it so I ordered the entire collection. Red and Black has been a favorite among my LA customers, this collection has added gray to the mix. I made the sample quilt and sure enough there was ample enough fabric left over to make the table runner and more.

I plan to make another smaller quilt using the other 1/2 of the center piece cut, I plan to eliminate the last outside border also.

I've also made a Woolies Quilt that turned out charming although I haven't quilted it yet. Plus I've added to my collection of In the Beginnings fabrics. So much going on with little time to spare. I've got a customer's quilt on my rack waiting for me now. More pictures soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Wishing All A Brighter New Year & World Peace

2011-12-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

Another year has come and gone. I feel so lucky to be seeing a New Year I just wish for a few more brighter times in the coming year. I have lost a few young friends this year so I really do feel lucky and I'm thankful I'm ringing in another year no matter what.

Happy New Year to All!!!!

Lets talk Quilts, Quilting & Hobbies

So happy to report I have NO ufo projects or Quilts lingering.
This is a quilt I made from my scrap pile awhile back. A Simple "Yellow Brick Road" pattern. To quilt it I floated this one instead of pinning it to my rack, I've never done it this way before as I've always pinned. I will try this again on my own quilts a few more times before doing customer quilts this way.

This is a new Panto I recently added to my collection, "One Cloudy Day" by
Timeless Quilting Designs. I used Omni Thread by Superior getting perfect tension, used DK Pink on top and Off White on the Muslin back. Oh how I love my machine. As always just click on the Picture for a better look.

I've also been making Sausage Pillowcases and I'm trying to learn how to use my embroidery machine, if for nothing else but to make my quilt labels. I'm making progress as I've graduated to Hand Towels which I've found fun to do.

One of my intensions for 2012 is to make embroidery sewing machine covers for all of my sewing machines. I have lots of machines too...maybe...ghee yes my next post will be about all my sewing machines...few sit idle as they all have a purpose.
Until next year...thanks for stopping by.

Final 2011 Customer Quilts

2011-12-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

2011 has been a good year at CityView Quilting, with many customers bringing me lots of wonderful quilts to longarm quilt. I've met new customers in 2011 as well as I've quilted at least once for most of my past customers this year. I sincerely Thank all of you. I very much appreciate your business and truly love being able to quilt for you.
Here are just a few of the last Customer quilts finished in 2011.

I sincerely wish all of my blog viewer's and my

CityView Quilting Customers a Very Merry Season.

May everyone enjoy a Brighter and Happier

New Year!

Keep "Stitchin" & "Quilting" be Happy!

Bad Blogger is Back

2011-11-22T07:06:00.001-08:00

I've been busy working too much at my day job, actually my day job is a night job..with split nights off...seems like I just can't get caught up. But I have been quilting and sewing alot. The feed dogs on my sewing machine wore out so I splurged for my first Bernina. Found an interesting sewing shop nearby called Modern Domestic. Besides selling sewing machines they have an area where you can rent sewing space for the day, they provide everything cutting table, irons, sergers etc all you need to do is bring your own project about everything else is there for you to use.

Beings Modern Domestic also gives classes I thought it was time to learn to use my serger that has been sitting on the shelf unused for too long. My first class after the basic classes was How to Make Leggies. This pattern is So quick it only took about 45 minutes to sew and trace with another 15 minutes to hem using a DMS and a twin needle to get the coverstitch look.

I've read many gals also serge the edges of their quilts before sewing the Binding on...I must say I did this on my last flannel quilt...I think I will start serging the edges of all my quilts before binding cuz it sure seemed easier sewing the binding on the serged edge.

I've quilted quite a few customer quilts lately too, although often times I forget to take a picture. The Crossstitched Quilt is 93"x 113", the customer wanted only a light custom so there isn't any backfills etc but it was done all Freehand. I don't wish for a computerized system but on this one it may have been nice. The cute Pink Pony quilt is for a 4 year old girl who rides her own horse all by herself. I've been quilting for Patty for awhile now, she always finds the Cutest Horse Fabrics, almost makes me want a horse too. I Quilted it with Heart of Flutter by Lisa Calle. The strip quilt is made from a jelly roll, I quilted with Wandering Vines really turned out nice, I'm sure the little lady who gets it will enjoy it this winter.
Thanks for stopping by.

UNBELIEVEABLE!!

2011-10-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

I thought I was busy...

Meet My Family, Mom, Dad & Peaches

That tree used to be 60' Tall

Dad at 80 is still working a Full Time Job plus taking care of the Farm

Plus in his spare time he will split and stack that entire tree plus a few more trees that fall this winter into firewood.

He plans to be ready for NEXT winter's firewood,

this winter's wood is already in the woodshed.

Yep I've been very busy quilting, canning, working, and going to a show or two. Thanks for stoping by.

2 Baby Quilts Finished

2011-08-23T00:20:00.000-07:00

Janie my customer did a fantastic job making her very first Quilts.

I just finished quilting and attaching the binding to 2 of these cute little baby quilts. No, mother isn't expecting twins but grandma is expecting her first grandchild soon. Beings grandma isn't a quilter, she decided while she was making 1 she better make 2. Just in case for the future grandbaby. Grandma isn't sure she is really going to get into making quilts... but she's beginning to make plans for a next quilt so... there's still hope she'll become a quiltaholic like the rest of us.

She wanted the same allover quilting pattern done on both quilts, she choose this one called "Drip", A Perfect choice for the cute Ducks, plus it looks super on the minkie backing too.

Also since my last post I've made 3 more Quilts for myself. A Yellow Brick Road and two 1600 quilts They were simple and fast using Hoffmans bali pops. I know that some quilters don't like The 1600 quilt pattern but for my purposes, wanting to make quick quilts so that I have practice quilts to practice my LA quilting skills on it's perfect. Plus when I'm all finished it didn't brake the bank and they make into a great size for charity...win win for all.

Can't believe It's almost September, I've been waiting all year for September. Here in the PNW we don't have the really big Quilt Shows like the other parts of the country do. This year we finally have 2, one in September the other in October...so exciting...I can't wait.
Thanks for stopping by.

I've Been Quilting

2011-08-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy lately. Working, Making Quilts, Quilting for Customers and picking berries and making jam. Oh I squeezed in a short beach trip too. I hadn't been to the beach for awhile and as I drove into Newport, Oregon I noticed a very small sign along the side of the road. It said "Quilt Show" today...well this made my day plus the weather was sunny and bright again. There were lots, I think about 300 quilts plus Jean Wells from the "Stitching Post in Sisters was the guest speaker. Jean gave a very enlightening presentation about her work plus she actually let us inspect {touch} her quilts. Martha and I recently visited the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show in Sisters and couldn't get tickets to Jeans Presentation there, so this was really a treat for us.

On the home front I made another Black and White lap size quilt with the fabric I won recently plus while I was at the beach I found even more fabric at the Quilt show so I added a bit to my collection. This Eleanor Burns, Orion's Star Quilt is the perfect size for someone in need and once it's quilted {not sure how I'm going to quilt it yet}, do you have any ideas for me? Once it's quilted it will go into my charity pile along with the other one I posted in my last post, actually I have a few dozen almost ready for charity. Just need more time to quilt them and get the binding on, I really need to learn how to sew binding down with my sewing machine, I do attach the binding with my LA now.

The Star quilt is one I just finished quilting for a new customer, it is for her 35th grandchild due in Sept. She's been making quilts for years, this is the first time she has ever been to a Longarmer.She choose an allover pattern called "Plumage", although many customers perfer a custom quilting job for this quilt pattern, the panto she choose looks great. She usually hand quilts her quilts with white thread and she was so pleased I had a Yellow thread that was a perfect match for the front and was shocked when I told her I'd use a Peach colored Thread in the bobbin to match her Peach backing fabric. She picks it up next week and I hope she is happy.
Well I picked enough blackberries to make a batch of Jelly. This is the first canning I've done in many years..it was so much fun and good too I'll be going out again soon to pick more berries. Our weather has been so cold { I know I hate to say but it has been so cold here this year that the garden is just beginning to produce, although we just pulled out our Candy sweet onions and what a bumper crop... over 200 sweet onions hope they last until Christmas.
Thanks for stopping by

New Quilt

2011-07-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

I just finished piecing my Turning 20 Quilt from Book 5, Simply Sashed. I won the entire collection of Black and White precut's from Studio E at the Fall Trends show. I still have the Jelly Roll, Sweet 16's, Cakes and 5"Squares from the collection to use, but first I need to find "Time" and the perfect pattern.

The finished blocks are 17" square. The red fabric is from my stash.

Using just 10 FQ's {5 White & 5 Black} makes a generous 60X77 quilt.

Went looking for my backing fabric and ended up with this fabulous fabric at a great fantastic cheap price of $3 yd, so I bought the entire bolt. I'm sure I'll find many more uses for it. Just click on the photo to see better detail. I will probably freehand quilt this one, coping and using some of the many scroll designs found in the fabric. The quilting is going to have to wait as I have customer quilts to quilt, and lots of berries need to be picked out at the farm.
Glad you stopped by.

More Sister's Quilts

2011-07-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time at the outdoor quilt show in Sister's that we've decided to go back next year. We booked and paid the hefty deposit for the cabin, ghez now I just hope the national budget passes.
I've been busy quilting for customers so I wasn't able to post more pictures until now. I'm also working on my own Turning 20 quilt from the book Simply Sashed. I won a generous amount of fabric from Studio E at the Fall Trend show so I thought I'd make me a quilt or 2. I'm down to deciding weather or no to put borders on the quilt I'm making or not. If I decide to add border's I will need to go buy fabric for the borders. I'm trying to limit myself to my stash. All post a pic once I finish.
More Sister's Outdoor Quilt show pictures for your enjoyment, Thanks for stopping by.

Hope tou enjoyed the show...till next time.

Another Quilt Finished

2011-07-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

While I was in Sister's I purchased a Batik Jelly Roll at The Stitching Post. My daughter really liked the "1600" quilt I recently made, so she took it to our beach house for her bed. This quilt is so fast although it's a little boring too. After binding the last one using batik I took the advice of someone on another forum and used cotton fabric for the binding instead of batik. It was so much easier to hand sew the binding on this quilt.

I was going to freehand quilt this one but went with a Panto at the last minute, I needed my rack for a customer quilt.

I quilted it using Superior's Lava Thread called "Bora Bora" and used a 14" Panto by Lorien Quilting called Fantasy Feathers. I love how it turned out but I just may not suggest this Panto to my customers because it uses lots of thread and takes quite a bit longer than the other ones I have.

I don't charge a separate thread charge and all of my Panto's are the same price, although I'm rethinking this a may change my pricing. Here in Oregon because we don't have a sales tax so our bookkeeping is really simple I we keep it simple.

For a closer look just click on the photo.

I will be posting more Sister's Quilt Show Pictures later.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sister's Quilts N More

2011-07-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

The Stitching Post in Sister's has treasures for both the Quilter's and Knitters. My daughter loves to knit as much as I like to Quilt...so when I find something for her that has to do with Knitting I get pretty excited. Maybe these have been around for awhile but I've never seen one...she really loves it too.

Canyon Creek Pottery is located right in Sister's. They have many wonderful and unique pottery items for any occasion. This shop is on my list of places to visit again next year.
These niffty Yarn Bowls are made exclusively for The Stitching Post.

Lots of neat shops in and around Sisters so I plan on staying a little longer next year.

Might even try a little fishing while I'm there next time too.

As promised more Show Pictures;
To see more detail just click on the Picture.
Enjoy

The quilts is actually hanging outside the window we are inside

More Pictures too come, so stop by again. Oh what the heck, I'm going to try and add the Paint Chip Quilts, sometimes blogger is naughty so If they aren't here now check back.

Better stop while I'm ahead today...hope they all load. More tomorrow.
Thanks dor stopping by.

Sister's Outdoor Quilt Show, continued 3

2011-07-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Quilts N' Coffee

Not only was it a wonderful Quilt show with outstanding weather, I also discovered The Sisters Coffee Company. At the lodge for breakfast I was served the best tasting coffee I've ever drank. It was so wonderful I brought home 3# of Gold, {Coffee}. "Black Butte Gold" is my favorite. I like a good cup of bold coffee in the mornings and Black Butte Gold will get you going. Now on days I don't feel up to moving I'll brew my 2nd favorite, "Metolius Blend".
I also bought a pound called "The Quilter's Blend", a patchwork blend they say. I haven't tried it yet and won't for awhile {don't want to grind the beans yet} but I'll let you know what I think after I make a cuppa. www.sisterscoffee.com

Next Year I plan to review "Fresh Baked Scones" I had my fair share of these delightful treats during my stay at Sister's.
Now as promised more Quilts.

"Sorry", A few sideways Pictures

Hit on the Pictures for more detail

Many beautiful Farm Animal Quilts here

A whole section was devoted to "Tree" Quilts

Yes, This is a Quilt.

Thanks for stopping by, more later.

Sister's Outdoor Quilt Show, part 2

2011-07-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Now we can ride in Style...Another raffle I didn't Win..

Like I said, You find Quilts hanging everywhere

Quilts for every Taste and Style

Lots of Men seemed to be enjoying the show too

Click on the Picture to see more detail

Amazing.. you rarely see the same quilts or Q patterns

Lots of places to sit and get out of the sun.

Inside the Dime Store, 134 more Quilts are displayed

Just might find one of my quilts hanging there next year

I spotted this quilt a block away..sadly it wasn't for sale

Impressive Quilt and I really like how it was quilted

We arrived in Sister's on Thursday, just in time for social hour at the lodge. We met other Quilters from all across the USA and beyond, many who have been coming to the show for years. Actually we were the only newbies present. Afterwards we enjoyed a fabulous Wild Salmon dinner at The Thyme restaurant at the lodge. Later we had just enough time to hop over to the Stitching Post Quilt store, should have known we couldn't possibly see everything in 2 hours, we had to go back Friday night and then again on Saturday night too. So much neat stuff besides Quilt Essentials can be found in this shop including Yarn. My daughter is the knitter in the family, and I actually found her something unique she didn't already have. I will reveal what I bought her later, all I will say now is; she Loves it. For myself I found a bit of fabric I just had to have plus a pattern or 2, but my favorite find was 5 great "Zentangle" books, at a cost I could afford. Being a longarm quilter I've been following this new trend...so many possibilities for new back fills ideas to incorporate into the quilting of your quilts.
Thanks for stopping by, more tomorrow.

Sister's Outdoor Quilt Show, part 1

2011-07-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

Our Cabin at Five Pines Lodge

Quilts were hung everywhere even at the Lodge

Look close in the center of Pix...the deer out the back door

Inside the Wonderful Clock shop in Sister's

Just a sample of what's ahead

Although I've lived in Oregon all of my life I've never been to Sister's let alone their Outdoor Quilt Show. To say I was impressed is simply an understatement. Every Quilter needs to experience this fantastic event at least once and I certainly understand now why so many Quilter's go back year after year. The show itself is Fantastic the town of Sister's is simply wonderful on it's own. I plan to go back just to shop the town and see what else the surrounding area has to offer. Might add there are many divine Quilt Shops on all roads leading to Sister's, plus the fantastic ones right in Sister's.
The weather was perfect...heard some years it got mighty hot.
I will continue to post more show pictures, I took 375 before my battery died mid day. Unfortunately it died just as I was about to enter the Teacher's Tent where their work was on exhibit for all to see up close and personal..oh my what a site for quilter's eyes and I don't have picture one.
Enjoy and Thanks for stopping by today.

Quilts, Now It's Vacation Time

2011-07-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

It's almost vacation time so I've been busy finishing up my customers quilts. My good quilty friend and I are going to the Outdoor Quilt Show in Sister's Oregon. Neither of us has been there before so we intend to have a great relaxing time. The only reservations we could get was for the resorts Bridal Suite...I know..I know but we really wanted to go and stay in a place right in Sister's. I'll post lots of Pictures when we get back.

Here's what I've done lately. First one is a beauiful green batik quilt that my customer made for her friends housewarming. Although you can't see it, it is an allover panto called "Curls N Twist" used a medium green So Fine Thread.

The second quilt is made using "In the Beginnings" fabrics...very fun and a happy quilt 62"x72". To quilt it I used my "Swirls" CL boards. I was most happy that the thread colors I chose for quilting it worked out so well. The Backing fabric was Lilac so I used So Fine Lilac thread in the bobbin for Top Thread I used a much darker thread Superior's "Lava" "Mauna Loa which is a varigated Purplish color...I'm so pleased; without even adjusting tension not one dot of purple showed up on the back side. Oh how I love my machine and more everyday. I remembered to take a pix of the back side of the quilt mostly because I wanted to add a picture of what the "Swirls" stitchout looks like to my customer Quilting Choice Album.

Thought I was going to have time to work on one of my own quilts when I returned from Sister's..not so cuz more customer quilts came in. Life is Good.

Enjoy your summer and Thanks for stopping by.

Show N' Tell

2011-06-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

I made this Quilt from a kit which I got from Connecting Threads awhile back. I'm always on the hunt for kits, that once made, will offer me lots of good Longarm Quilting opportunities. In quilting this one I decided to go for a light custom look because that's about all my customers are willing to pay for, although the entire quilt is SID which would bump the quilting price up a notch.

I'm pleased with the overall result except for the borders. Not fond of the stars in the corners nor wavy line piano keys I did along the edges.

I used my Terry's Twist Rulers www.sallyterry.com in the corners of the 15" Star blocks. I really love these rulers, makes the job so easy when I remember to use them! In the other blocks around the star I used DeLoa's Boomerang ruler www.deloasquiltshop.com at first I was going to crosshatch this area but remembered I needed to keep is simple overall so I just stitched a few lines instead, actually I like the way it looks. The star points I did freehand CC's and boy do I need more practice. In the braded area between the blocks I did Freehand feathers. I SID around both borders, stars and brades. SID is just something I do...although I never use monopoly type thread, I use whatever color of regular thread best matches the entire quilt. I really don't like to change thread colors so my limit is 2 thread colors per quilts. I don't like to{rarely} frog so I go slow. The EZ wheels on my machine really does make a big difference for doing SID work.

As I said the blocks on this quilt were 15" sq. and for the first time I was able to quilt the entire block without advancing and with room to spare...all because of...meet {no name yet}....

Gammill Vision 22-10 with EZ glide wheels and a camera. I was simply so impressed by the iimprovements made by Gammill on the Vision 18-10 Premier model that I owned for a short while...I just had to inquire...if the next step up machine would dare fit in my little 10'x 17' room. Actually all I really intended to do at first was to only upgrade the frame...they say good things happen...well they did and I couldn't pass it up. Used as a Demo machine for a very short period...it runs so quite and smooth my DH can't even tell its running except when it beeps. I could have gotten the new breeze wheel system but I loved the EZ wheels on my other machine so I stayed with the EZ wheels. I'm just thrilled with the entire system and so far it loves and stitches out perfect with every type of Thread I have in my huge collection. Now about the space {footprint}..overall I have more room behind the machine now than I had before, both frames sit 22" from the wall, this machine sit differently on the frame than the Premier did so I have more room behind the machine which is good because most customers want panto's. I've bought a few larger pantos. Although my goal is to PPP and be able to offer more "Allover" freehand designs that can be quilted from the front, plus I'm working towards a lite custom signature to offer as an alternative to pantos.

Thanks for stopping by.

MQX West in Portland

2011-06-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Is it October Yet? I know summer is hardly here and I am already wishing for Fall! Yep can't wait for MQX West to arrive in Portland!!!!! And to top it off it's my Birthday too!
I've never been to a Longarm quilting show before...can't wait to see what I've been missing out on and to think I live just 10 minutes away. I feel so darn lucky to live so close. I plan to take the MAX rail line to the show each day instead of paying for parking. With the savings I can buy an extra CONE of thread each day. I sure hope I allowed enough time to hit the vendor floor? I've signed up for 6 lecture classes and one hands on class. At first I planned to take more hands on classes but after thinking about it I decided to wait until next year for the hands on classes. I simply don't know what to expect, except I'm planning for a fun packed week of learning, seeing, breathing LA Quilting at it's finest.
I Hope to meet lots of new friends at the show too. So if you are coming let me know and we might be able to meet.

Between working and doing customer quilts I've been pretty busy. It's taken me awhile but I just had to make one of those 1600 quilts you see posted everywhere. I won a Jelly Rolls at the trend show this Spring and I was just itching to use it. I didn't count the strips until after I'd sewed them together...55 of them where as the directions only need 40...I didn't think I'd ever get the first row sewn and I actually had to stop and make dinner and then it was too late so I couldn't finish sewing the row until after work the next day. It also took me 2 days to see the end of the second row too...that 650 extra inches sure took lots of extra time to stitch. But the end result was wonderful I think plus the fabric was batik so I was able to use a panto I'd been wanting to try out for a long time, it's called "Razor Grass" by Jodi Beamish.
I finished making this quilt just in time...Using "LAVA" thread, I loaded my 1600 quilt onto my new "Quilt Frame" and along with the new Quilting Frame,, it just so happens a new "Quilting Partner" came along too...it's so exciting, wonderful and stitches beautifully. I'll introduce you soon...
Thanks for stopping by.

Beach Trip

2011-05-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

I spent 5 days at our little beach shack on the central Oregon coast in the tiny town of Seal Rock which is famous for it's many wood carvers shops and the most delicious Homemade fudge shop called "Indulge" on the Oregon coast. Yep it's all made from scratch and their "divinity" is devine. Plus their portions of Tillamook Ice Cream are huge, and she makes a killer Iced Chocolate Mocha too. The weather was beautiful the entire time so I was able to get

alot of yard work done. But this trip was

mostly to rest so that's what I did. Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Usually we find lots of agates but the beach was sand covered this trip. That's whats so wonderful about the beach, the landscape is forever changing. The same beach is different every time we go down, you never know what you'll find.

Finally Finished

2011-05-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to finish the poke a dot quilt shown in my last post. Actually finished putting the binding on 5 quilts while I was at the beach house this week. I save hand sewing the bindings on my quilts for when I go to our beach house on the central Oregon coast. Just so happens the weather was beautiful. Anywho the quilt finished out at 52"X69". I used a panto "Daisy Galore". The striped backing is part of the collection of fabrics by Fine Lines.

A "Go" Friendly Quilt Top

2011-04-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

I just finished this top; all except I haven't decided about the borders yet. Can't decide how wide to make them nor which fabric to use. So far it measures 54"x72". I would like to keep the finished size so I only need 2 widths of fabric or less than 4 yards of fabric for the total backing. I'm close so I'm a bit limited. So far the quilt is Go friendly meaning I cut all the fabric with my Go Cutter. I have the 3-1/2 and the 4-1/2 inch strip cutter, just not sure I want to make the borders that wide or if I should stay at 2-1/2" wide borders. I'll take a fresh look at it tommorrow. Hope to have kits available by this weekend.

I'm planning to use my Bubbles Boards by Urban Elementz when I quilt it. I've sure used my Bubbles boards alot lately.
The fabric is from the collection called Ellie's Emporium by
Fine Lines Fabric

Thanks for stopping by.

Now Back On Track

2011-03-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hello!! I simply got derailed for awhile but I'm back on track now. Actually I've done lots of quilting and have lots to show for my time away. Seems like I also spend much of my remaining free time blog reading other peoples wonderful and interesting blogs and then I don't have time to post. It's a bit unfair I know...but. i just wished I had half the creativity and wordmanship that I read and see on other blogs. So much fun is going on out there and so many exciting things are going on in the quiltie world right now. But after reading all about everyone elses adventures and see the things being done...my stuff almost seems boring. Maybe I need to take a creative writing class. Maybe then I could make my stuff look better and sound more interesting to my few viewers. Anyway Thanks for stopping by.

New E-Z Glide Wheels for my Gammill

2010-12-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

I've had my new E-Z Glide wheels on my Gammill Premier Vision for about 3 weeks now so I thought I'd show them off and tell you my thoughts. First off, I love them. But before I tell you why I love them I must admit I really wasn't having any issues with my old wheels and I thought they were working for me just fine. Heavens forbid they were just months old: and as much as I loved my old Premier Plus I really really Love my New Premier Vision but that's another story so back too the New E-Z Glide wheels and why I like them so much. I love the fact I don't have to concentrate so hard anymore, making sure that my machine is go exactly where I want it to go especially around curves and such. Ya know how once in a while on a curve or a feather plume, or loops etc they had a slightly flatter side here and there? Well NO more all my curves are now perfectly round and plump. I'm able to follow panto lines and curves with precession, all my loops and curls are even and balanced now, I can hardly believe it. I've finished 6 very large quilts since the install, on one of the quilts I'd used the same Panto as I'd used just the week before on a quilt, but quilting it with the old wheels on, The difference is simply amazing I was almost embarrassed to return it to the customer. My DH could even see the difference. I love to do micro quilting, I can just sit and fill up yards of fabric with all kinds of beautiful micro quilting for no reason or purpose. Oh my pebbles are so round and my curlies are so even and cute. Anyway I really like how good these wheels are making my quilting look.
I do also want to point out so as to not mislead anyone with my glowing report on these Wheels. These new wheels don't make my machine glide any smoother than my old wheels did, Meaning I have the same amount of Vibration (which in my case is slight) than I had with the old wheels. And my quilt tops are still bouncing wildly up and down as before, can't figure out what's making this happen. I've tried every suggestion put before me.
So the bottom line at least in my case is that my machine doesn't run/ operate any better or worse with these wheels on, but the New E-Z wheels allows me to quilt more accurately with less concentration and stress, and the machine moves easier, it feels slightly lighter now; if that is even possible? This is a 'Premier" we are talking about! The machine also feels more balanced than before, just something I've began to notice and feel although I didn't think my old wheels made my machine feel unbalanced at all...never even thought about it to tell the truth; oh by the way I don't feel I need to add sand bags for drag either. And I haven't had to use a ruler for SID since the install either. Yep I Love these wheels! Yep they ride right on top of the rails. Nope they don't wonder off, just in case you are wondering. Although beings my machine doesn't have a parking wheel or brake like the big kids do, at night I clip a clamp to my Ruler Mate, just in case we have an earthquake wouldn't want it to fall off the track; I can't afford earthquake ins. and can't even get it even if we could afford it. We have on our beach shack though, so we don't loose any sleep over this minor detail. For more information check out www.boersmas.com These wheels are exclusively for a Gammill LA, Whoops, sorry maybe I should have warned you before now.
Hope and Wishing that everyone around the World has a Very Happy Year, all year.
Thanks for stopping by.

Merry Christmas to All

2010-12-23T19:54:00.000-08:00

Wishing all of you a Very Merry Christmas.

Our Christmas will be very quite this year. I'll be making a big pot of Homemade chili and DH will be making buttermilk rolls. Just the 3 of us relaxing and doing what we choose. I know I will be sewing the binding on the flannel quilt I made with the wonderful Green "Cheater" Flannel from Windhams. I plan to make another one just like it but in the Red Plaid with a Blackish tweed Border. I won't make the Red one as big. The Green one is 92"x108" what was I thinking? My couch quilt turned into a bed quilt. Actually most of the customer quilts I've done lately have been Queens or bigger. This surprises me given the economy. Want to show you Shelley and Misty quilts, both these gals are new quilters of less than a year. They both do fantastic work and are self taught. Misty used a deep purple minkie for the backing on her fairy quilt, this was a first for me. The back looks as good as the front and the pattern she picked was perfect. Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone has a peaceful Merry Christmas.

Sew Busy

2010-12-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report I've been LA quilting lots of repeat customer quilts and I've gotten some new customers too. What is amazing... well maybe it's not amazing to other well seasoned Longarmer's...this is my first year in business.. but my customers are bring in quilts for Next Year already. My January is almost full, plus I have 2 coming in February. I truly feel blessed, even as my DH took off for the beach without me.

Here are some recent quilts. Thanks for stopping by.

Just Doodling the Time Away

2010-11-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, I hope everyone had a pleasent feast and the upcoming Holiday Season is met with happiness and cheer.
It's been awhile since I've posted, mainly I enjoy reading other people's blogs so much I simply run out of time to post on mine. I've been busy at work, I'm still working full time (this wasn't in my business plan)plus quilting lots of quilts for my customers which I'm very thankful for. Business is slowly taking off. I've gotten several repeat customers plus referred ones, plus 2 new customers who came to me after seeing a Charity Quilt I quilted for their Church, I truly feel Blessed.

I continue to PPP every chance I get, thought I'd share my lastest Cat Blankets with you. You can see a bit of crosshatching, it's my first attempt using Ronda Beyer's new curved crosshatch rulers. Can't wait until her book comes out, cuz I'm doing it wrong..looks backwards to me. My brother was here on business this week so we had our Thanksgiving Dinner on Monday. So today we will have leftovers and I'll have time PPP for awhile on a new Cat Blanket before loading a customer quilt.
I did get something New and Kool for my Studio, a digital picture frame to show pictures of my customers quilts.
Well blogger is being nasty now... so Thanks for stopping by.

Basketball Quilt

2010-10-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

Michaels Quilt

It seems as though I've been working

on this quilt all summer. My Nephew a

freshmen in high school plays on

4 basketball leagues, guess one can assume

he likes Basketball.

The Quilt is 65x81 inches. As long as

he quits growing, he's 6'4" it should cover him
pretty well.

I was hoping to find a better fabric match where I used the Black fabric, to me it looks too much like halloween. But then again what better color to use on a quilt for a High schooler than Black.

Next time I will show you the quilt for his sister Laura. Thanks for stopping in.

Honesty deserves Recognition

2010-10-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last night Todd, the owner of A Roof Life In Oregon came to my neighbors house to give her an estimate for cleaning her roof. Upon seeing him on her roof I asked if he would give me a bid for my house also while he was here.
I thought our roof also needed cleaned because I could see some moss on our roof in a few places plus it's been 2 years since we last had it treated.
Todd comes over and goes up on the roof and comes back down quickly, I thought I had a big problem! No..he had good news..saying the patches of moss on the roof was dead and that I'd be wasting my money to have my roof treated at this point in time. Can you believe it? I was so stunned, you hear all the time about businesses out to get you. Here is a Man who could have easily gotten a job cleaning my roof. But no he was honest and told me we didn't need it.
Not the end of the story yet!
Beings there was a few patches of Moss he offered to go back up and scraped it off, and while he was up there he cleaned out the front gutters which were full of moss. All toll he spent an hour and a half just before dark on a Saturday night up on my roof cleaning the moss and gutters. Now for the incredible part..He wouldn't charge me or let me pay him. I offered him some very huge ripe Tomatoes from the garden and he was happy receive them.
So if you need your roof cleaned or need moss prevention spray call Roof Life of Oregon @ 503-925-0125. A honest company to do business with.
Thank you.

Hello

2010-10-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile, life has a way of setting up a course that leads down a path that wasn't planned or intended.
My Long arm business is coming along fine although I haven't been able to promote it as much as I'd planned due to the situation a my other job. My other job was only suppose to be 2 days a week....well it's been a 5 day a week job all summer with no end in site. I could have easily quit but with my DH illness now it really not an option.
So what have I been doing? Besides reading and keeping up with everyone elses blogs, I really love to see what everyone else is doing. I've been making lots of quilts and quilt kits out of the Fabric I showed you awhile back. I intended to have a web site by now so I could sell my kits on-line. But for now I will just sell my kits to my Studio customers. Later today I should be able to get pictures and will post them later.

My next post will be about a business here in Oregon that truely deserves recognition.
Thanks for stopping by.

Hot Pink Off The Rack

2010-07-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

This Hot Pink N Black quilt is 85"x111" and it's college bound. Although it's a simple quilt,the colors play so well together it really is a standout. It's the first "BIG" quilt I've done with my New Vision so we bonded a little more. I used the stitch counter for the first time and a whapping 324,742 stitches when into this and I stitched a total 2.11 hours. We all know I spent way more time than that, but I think the stitch count will impress the customer and is something I'll actually end up sharing with them.
I used a new panto pattern called "Novaya Nzihz" by Beany Girl Quilts. The pattern complimented designs on the fabrics. The customer requested a Shiny Thread in Pink. Well I have 7 drawers of Thread and only 2 spools of real Pink..think I need to order some Pink Thread. So I used a Hot Pink Rayon by Metro on top and a Cream So Fine in the bobbin. I'm not sure I'm crazy about Metro Thread, I had more breakage than I'm use too about 2 per row although I had 2 rows with no breakage. Not sure at this point the breakage was due to the Thread or the Machine....but I certainly know it wasn't me. The only comparison I have is Glide Thread, The Glide is a bit heavier and gives a better stitch definition and I never had breakage on my Old machine but I didn't have Hot Pink. So I went online and Glide Thread has a Sale, but If I order anymore Thread I'll need to buy another Thread drawer too.
The customer who brought me this quilt and 3 others is a new quilter. It's going to be a delight quilting for her..this quilt was mark on square and so are the others and she didn't whince when I said I needed 8" extra on the Backing.
Another feature on my new machine that I was able to use was the Basting Stitch. I used it to baste down the side edges only, and I really liked it and it's was't a hassle to change settings back and forth at all. When I load a quilt of my own next time I'm going to try out the Basting stitch across the top.
I'm really liking the touch Carrousel on the New Vision and actually finding it's much faster and easier to navigate than the buttons on my old machine. I didn't transfer the Carrousel to the back either when I was doing the Panto and I never needed it. Before I bought this machine I was a bit concerned about transferring the Carrousel and would I miss it in back. Answer is No I don't miss it at all and have never felt the need to go back and forth with it.
Sorry this has gotten so long.
Thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Safe 4th.

No UFO's in the House

2010-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd show you a couple more quilt samples I've made using fabric from the Sarifina Collection by Maywood. I also added another border to the Patchwork PDQ quilt I posted earlier. Along with these quilts I've finished adding borders etc to 6 other quilts along with making a shopping bag. Now I'm all set to LA quilt them, or so I thought that was the plan, but today I got 3 big customer quilts, so I'll be busy with those for a few days/weeks. Actually it will give me time to consider how I want to quilt my sample quilts. I'm just happy all my quilts are done up to the point of quilting because I have a few more quilt projects dancing in my head...But I hate having UFO's..I don't classify the LA quilting step as being a UFO. I consider LA Quilting to be a "project", just like I consider the Binding Step to be a "project" in itself. I usually do my binding when I go to the beach or any other time when I need to just sit and rest.

Have a safe 4th of July.

Another "Patchwork PDQ Quilt"

2010-06-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here's another Quilt I made recently where I used the pattern "Patchwork PDQ" by Swirly Girls Designs. The panto is called "Climbing Rose" by Sophie Collier. Thought I'd show you beings it just came off the rack. Actually It's the first real Panto I've done using my new machine, A Gammill Premier Vision, it's really a sweet machine and very quiet too. I can actually hear the phone ring while I'm doing a panto.I loved my old machine,

and I'm adjusting to this one pretty well. This machine glides so much easier plus with so little noise I'm having to get used to the "new beat" so to speak. I'm very please with the tension also, I used DK Gold Thread on top and Cream on the bottom. I've been playing on muslin until now testing tension. My other machine produced good tension with little effort.I rarely use the same color of thread in both the top and bottom of the quilt so I need Very good tension. Tomorrow I will quilt one more scrappy sample quilt and then I'll be ready to start quilting the quilts I've made with the fabric from the Serifina Collection by Maywood Studio's. Thanks for stopping by.

Patchwork PDQ Quilt

2010-06-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I said I'd received my order of the entire collection of "Serifina" by Maywood Studio's. I plan to sell kits and so far I've made 3 different sample quilts. This quilt utilizes the red fabrics in the collection. There are 3 color waves in the collection, red, green and black. Every piece is wonderful, the only thing that would make it better is if the collection was available in flannel. I love making Flannel Quilts.
The pattern I choose for this quilt is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites, it's fast, easy, scrappy, and fat-quarter friendly. You only need 12 fat-quarters to make this nice lap quilts. The pattern is called "Patchwork PDQ"
by Swirly Girls Designs.
Next time I'll show you the other 2 Quilts I've made using the green and red fabrics in the collection. I haven't used the black color wave yet, but think I'll again use Patchwork PDQ for the pattern, it'd sure make a great quilt for a girls college dorm. Until next time.

Mt. Hood is Glowing

2010-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's 8:30pm and I can't sleep and I have to be to work at midnight, so I got up and looked out my front window. This is what I saw. Mt. Hood glowing a pale pink at sunset. I almost missed the shot looking for the camera. One of these days I need to buy a better camera, but I've said that for the last 35 years. Sorry I included the pole, but I'm in my jammies, I went outside to take this picture, I had to make it quick before the glow disappeared and before a car or two came by. The glow only lasts a few minutes.This view is why I call my quilting business"Cityview Quilting". I have unobstructive views(except for the darn pole)of Portland and Mount Hood right out my front windows. I'll show a picture of Portland glowing the next time I catch it. Just wanted to share this beautiful shot of Mt. Hood. Hope to get a few hours of sleep now. Oh by the way I've been busy making quilts and quilting. I have 6 quilts to share with you soon. The Safrina Collection by Maywood is so beautiful.

Yummy New Fabric Collection

2010-06-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

New Fabric and patterns...Oh My What to Do?

The Fabric line is By Maywood, the Serifina Collection, yep I had to order all 23 pieces in the collection because I couldn't choose which to leave out. I'm not disappointed as every piece is yummy and wonderful. I hope to sell a bit of fabric and some kits along with doing my Longarm Quilting. I'm short of time but just had to show off my new fabric.

Thanks for stopping by.

Life's New Vision

2010-06-05T21:36:00.000-07:00

Life seems to be filled with never ending challenges and obsticles these days. I certainly have lots of subjects to blog about but will stick to the arrival of my New Gammill Vision Longarm. She really is a beauty and stitches very nicely, we haven't bonded so to speak as she is a little stiffer (hasn't been broken in yet)than my other Premier. Although she runs very smooth and quiet and I do mean quiet, a few quirks have appeared, both I'm sure will be remedied by my dealer once he's back in town. Until then I'm just practicing away trying to loosen her up a bit...
The sole reason I traded my other perfect machine in on the New Vision was I really wanted the "Coast" feature on this machines Stitch Regulator. I really love to do custom quilting with lots of micro quilting and feathers. Well I'm not disappointed one bit I'm really liking the New Stitch Regulator. I just wish I'd remember to use the new tie off feature as that is really cool too.
There were a couple of features on the New Vision that actually I was alittle concerned about not knowing if it would end up being more of a pain than not. One was moving the computer head to the back..in order to do panto's etc. Well I've found so far I've never even needed to move it. I set it up in front and then the back handles respond to my settings. Even using the tie off feature at the end of a panto row..no problem. I always went around to the front of the machine anyways to advance the quilt so I just tie off then.
The other feature I was concerned about was having the touch pad instead of buttons. I'm finding I needn't worried about that either,,to change settings and stitch lengths etc now seems actually faster and easier ..besides now I have way more controll over my speed settings and stitch lenghts.. it's heaven.
Another feature I'm loving is the "Basting Stitch" I've always stitched down the sides of my quilts...Now I can do a 1/2" to 1" baste stitch down the sides. This will remedie those edge situations where the customer wants to fold over the backing and use it for binding. Actually I can set the baste stitch up to 4" apart if I want. Anyway I'm beginning to Love this machine.

My other life story is that I'm back working full time at my old day job. I've been doing this since March now and is the reason I'm unable to post very often. My gung ho replacement up and walked out in March..now they aren't even looking for anybody and they think I want my job back...noway...but I do like the money. Not sure what I'll do yet..but this has really put a damper on me trying to promote my quilting business. But like everything else in life I'm pretty sure it will eventually resolve itself, and either way my path goes I will end up being the winner.

Thanks for stopping by.

Miles of Practice and A New Vision

2010-05-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

After finishing my last customer quilt a few weeks ago I decided to spend my free time practicing my freehand backfills. This seemed like a good idea beings I want to focus on Longarm custom quilting and I don't see a computerized system in my future anytime soon. All the white fabric hanging over my rack are filled with Freehand Micro quilting. All that work was also done on my "OLD MICHINE". Then My new much awaited Gammill Premier Vision arrived on Thursday, I really do and will soon love it I'm sure. But it's almost feels I'm starting from scratch. Now mine you according to the counter. I've only actually stitched for 23 minutes even though I've played with the machine for 2 days now. I think I've just been staring at it. Not that I'm glad business is slow, but I'm sure glad I'm not backed up with Customer Quilts and will have time to bond with my new machine. I really feel the biggest thing that's throwing me off balance is the new machine is sooo quiet and smooth. My other Premier certainly wasn't loud at all compared to many LA's, but now I realize I depended and quilted to the beat of the nice rhythmic sound that it had. I'm missing the beat so to speak and my stitching isn't as pretty as before. It's funny how you suddenly find out that you were dependent on things you weren't even aware of.
Who would have thought, I'd ever say I miss the noise. Good Grief I come home from my other job and all I want is peace a quiet. Guess the sound was music to my ears and I didn't even know it.

Now enough about the old, and in with the new. I really am thrilled with my new machine. So many new features but Those will have to wait for another post. No I didn't get the camera. I really like the New type off feature, I thought this was a feature I wouldn't ever use. Now it just dawned on me, Maybe the reason the machine has a radio is because the machine is so quiet and they knew we'd miss the noise, so they gave us a radio.
Thanks for tuning in.

Stippling Practice

2010-05-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

Here's few pictures of my Micro stippling practice.

Enjoy

I'm So Sorry

2010-05-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

I certainly didn't intend to be gone for so long. I'm so sorry I left my few followers with nothing better to look at this entire time but our utterly ugly cat. Please forgive me. There simply isn't enough hours in the day for all the irons I have in the fire right now.
So what have I been up too?
First off I'm back working at my old job, because my replacement only lasted 6 weeks. You'd think they could find someone especially now, but it's been almost 3 months now and no ones in site.
Since starting my quilting business recently I've done a few customer quilts also. I really love doing customer quilts but I admit it's been a slow start so far. But I really don't want to promote my quilting business until I go back to only working Part-Time at my other job.

Oh did I tell you I got an ipad? It is really so cool. I waste maga hours just reviewing apps at the itunes store. I'm looking for an app so that I can better organize my quilting pictures making it easier for my customers. I've also wasted many hours playing with all the photo altering apps. I really like sketching my quilting designs over a photo of the quilt before I quilt it. I just wished there was a better devise for drawing with,I use the POGO Pen now.

And lastly, I've been practicing quilting without having the stitch regulator on while I'm quilting. I told you earlier I really wanted to upgrade or trade my machine in for the New Gammill Vision because of the new stitch regulator it has. Well I'm trying to justify the cost of this and at the same time asking myself if I really need it in order to be able to quilt the beautiful custom fills I see on so many custom quilts. I keep telling myself I really don't need a new machine, because I could learn to quilt beautiful custom fills on my current machine if I'd just practice micro stippling for a couple hours a day. So that's also what I've been doing in my spare time lately. I actually am beginning to like what I see. I was going to show you a few pictures...but google isn't playing nice right now.
Thanks for stopping by

Happy Easter!

2010-04-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy Easter!

I also want to share my favorite Easter Candy with you. Our cat even likes em. Yep she openned up a package and took one bite out of every chick in the package the other night while we slept. Then she took every chick out of the package and lined them up on my sewing table. She was sitting there watching over them when I came into the room. Maybe I won't be able to share my "Peep" treats with you as blogger isn't being nice tonight, although they allowed the upload up the cat without a problem.
Thanks for stopping by.

New Patterns

2010-03-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

I've been busy making lots of quilt tops from the new patterns shown here that I picked up at the Trend show at EE Schencks I attended recently.

I will show you the Quilts as I finish quilting them. Most of the Patterns I choose are ones that you can easily use Pre-cuts (fat Quarters) or your scraps to piece them with. I'm hoping to sell kits later on so I'm testing out patterns to see which ones I want to sell.

Along with the patterns I bought a line of Maywood Fabric and once it arrives I will make something beautiful and show you that as well.
I started a new blog just for my Longarm business called CityView Quilting, there I will share some customer quilts as well as post information and details about my longarm business. Not much there yet, but I hope you stop by once in awhile. And if you need longarm services just e-mail me.
The link for the new blog is at the top and on the side of this blog page. Thanks for stopping by.

It's A Beautiful Day

2010-03-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

SPRING IS HERE...for one more day!!!

I Couldn't resist. Sharla brought 1 primrose home from work yesterday, so when I went to the store today I picked up 3 more to put in this really cute flowerpot.

It was so beautiful outside today, Sunny warm and 65 degrees clear as a bell. Sure felt like spring, even looks like spring. The weatherman must be wrong because he says it's going to snow next week. Oh no!! Sharla's already planted her peas and beans. The other beds are empty, her other veggie starts are in the greenhouse in the basement. yep you read it right. Her greenhouse is in the basement. Her onions are planted next door. She's beginning to take over the neighborhood as well as the house. Well I just wanted to show off her Peas...and her raised beds that are ready and waiting. She's been really working hard after work. Maybe next time if I remember I'll take a picture of her worm compost, yes they really do eat the wet garbage, I'm actually very surprised/amazed in fact. Thanks for stopping by today.

In Business Now

2010-03-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

CityView Quilting is now open for Business!
When I read the community paper today I saw my ad, what a surprise because it wasn't suppose to be in the paper until next week. Oh well, it will work out fine. Good thing the mailman comes early, I had 1 call just after I read it. I have the weekend off, so I'll finish getting the entry ready and look for a flag of some sort. My business is in my home, I was a little surprised when the inspector said I could have a small sign and he even suggested getting a flag. Anyway this day has ended up being kinda exciting. Thanks for stopping in.

Why I need the Vision

2010-02-28T17:56:00.000-08:00

Today I played with the CL Zig-Zag Board again. I'm sure I'll be using this board for doing lots of borders from here on out. I already use it quite a bit for E2E. I just didn't get the concept of using the hole plate to create really cool designs. Actually I got the concept but in my head I thought it'd take forever, so I didn't bother until taking Debs class at MQR.

My playtime was two-fold today; I did everything without the stitch regulator being turned on. Why would I do that? Because I thought maybe I could talk myself out of trading in my perfectly great machine for a new Gammill VISION model. Thinking if I could just learn to do the detail work without the stitch regulator being on, I wouldn't even NEED the Vision. But by the end of the day I realized I really do Need the new Vision machine. Just being able to check the stitches underneath with a camera is one good reason. Stop by again and I'll have more good reasons why I need the new Vision.

Circle Lord Playtime

2010-02-25T19:14:00.000-08:00

I'm taking the Circle Lord class series at MQResources. This month's series is on the Giant Zig-Zag Template. Although I knew these boards could be used in many different ways for long arm quilting; until now I hadn't really played with them to much. I loaded 2 yards of muslin when the class began and I barely have enough room left for the last class. I haven't even scratched the surface making all the different designs that one can do, let alone the combinations designs made by mixing the two. Deb showed us lots of ideas too; how to embellish the initial patterns; here again I haven't even started to do that yet. I've use this board quite abit and have posted pictures here. But now I'm beginning to see great potential using the board for some very cool border designs also. Will post pictures as I get the quilts. Thanks for stopping by.

Another Quilt

2010-02-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

I was so excited when I pieced this quilt last year thinking about all the open space I'd have for quilting. Well I've been staring at it since then, wondering how I to quilt it. Why does that happen? Always waiting/searching for something better, different or new...afraid to touch it in the mean time just in case something does come along.

The top photo doesn't show the borders, but you can sort of see what the borders look like in the 3rd photo.

Except for the freehand leaf vine in the green inner border all the other motifs were executed using the Circle Lord tools. I sewed the binding on with my long-arm. I want to offer attaching quilt binding as a service so I've been practicing doing it on my own quilts. Actually I'm please with it. I even got to use my new thread. Superior Brytes for the patterned motifs. I used Glide thread for the piano keys on the outer borders. Knock on Wood... I didn't even have one thread break. So know you know why As much as I would love love to have the new features offered on the new Gammill Vision machine, I'm really hesitate to trade in my near perfect machine. Unfortunitally even within brands not all machines are created equal. So Ima's gonna stay right here for now. Thanks for stopping by.

New Vision

2010-02-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

I talked to my dealer he will have a Vision at the quilt show in a few weeks. Can't wait to try it out. Eventually I will upgrade. I'm so busy getting my quilt business up and running along with learning a new job at work. All will fall into place in due time. In the mean time I already have a perfect machine. Here's a picture of my lastest quilt . It's 65" square. I used the Circle Lord's 48" crosshatch Long Boards to do the crosshatchedBorders, used their Spiral Template in the 6" blocks. The circles you can barely see in the center are also done with the CL tool. I used the Long Gam-Guide Ruler by Gammill to do the lines out from the center. I've had the Gam-guide ruler since I bought my machine and I'm just learning to use it. Actually It's a very cool tool. I have another quilt on my rack now and I'm using it again along with other Circle Lord templates I have. Might be awhile before I post it because I' going to try my hand at backfilling, I just can't get the hang of McTavishing so I'm trying to come up with something similar to do instead. Thanks for stopping in.

Gammill's New Stitch Regulator

2010-02-11T23:49:00.000-08:00

Oh My, what am I going to do? Although I'm very much a novice, I really love to do custom type Long-Arm quilting. I love doing little precision quilting. I'll never make any money quilting, how much time it takes to get the quilt done hasn't been a factor; because up till now I've mainly been quilting on my own quilts. I have the perfect Machine a Gammill Premier Plus. It truly does everything and does it well, meaning I can easily fine tune it to stitch nice with about any thread. We have become partners. I really don't like the idea of trading her in...but this new stitch regulator seems just the ticket (I think) for the type of quilting I've been striving to achieve. I've got the weekend off so I Guess a trip to McMinnville is on the agenda. I've got to check this out...it's really gotta be something great...cuz I couldn't ask for a better machine than the one I have. I'll Let you all know what I find out. Thanks for stopping by.

My mini Vacation

2010-01-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends. Just returned from a spur of the minute mini vacation at the Oregon Coast. When we heard the good wheather forecast on Monday for the beach we jumped in the car and headed down. I even took my camera but forgot the charger. ..Sorry no pictures.
On the way we stopped at Boersma's in McMinnville. That is who I purchased my Long Arm from. I must say if ever you are within a 100 miles of them it's worth it to stop. It has to be the largest fabric shop in Oregon next to Fabric Depot. Unlike FD it's 95% Quilt Fabric with oodles of made up quilts hanging everywhere. While you are there go downstairs and pet the Gammills. Once I stocked up on my LA supplies it was off towards the Ocean a mere 40 miles away. We stopped in Linclon City at Mo's Famous Clam Chowder for lunch. Had a great bowl of Chowder and was amazed how many people were at the beach mid week in the winter no less. There used to be a great Quilt shop in Lincoln City but it closed a few years ago and I sure do miss it. But my wallet loves it. I can fly through town now without dropping a couple hundred bucks! By this time we are heading South again on 101 a realize we will arrive at our little shack at the Beach just in time for low tide. Gee Whiz we pull into a little wayside to check out the beach to see if there are any rocks (agates) worth coming back after. Couldn't find a spot to park!!!Like I said mid week no one was suppose to be at the Beach except ME!! Finally decided we'd have to park on the side of the road, which we did. Got a 1/2 bucket each of decent Pretty Oregon Beach Rocks and very few agates. My DH has 3 rock polishers since his retirement this has become his hobby. All tole we made 3 beach runs for rocks and did ok but not great. Myself I enjoy walking on the beach and really don't care if it's a good rock day or not.
In the evenings after Jeapardy (my DH favorite show) I was able to watch my Jamie Wallen Long Arm video's. I'd had his Cotton Tracks Video forever but needed a review. Might add it's the best or at least I though until I started watching his new one called "Threadfusion" Now I don't know which is better. But if you are a Long Armer you need both. Threadfusion has 4 video's and in 3 nights I couldn't watch it all. I'm so bummed but sometime in the future soon I must view #4. I learned so much watching each one, notice I said LEARNed it'll take me years of practice to be able to learn to DO what I learned. What I really liked about Threadfusion was that he focused on micro-quilting, there aren't many if any LA video's that focus on this subject, Thanks Jamie.
It was so hard leaving the beach this morning as always, did I think it would be any different this time. No. Now it's back to the Big Red S part time on Monday. And on about March 1st I'll be ready to start my Quilting Business. Thanks for stopping by.

New Studio Part3

2010-01-24T16:56:00.001-08:00

Part 3: The White 24"X36"boards that are resting on my Long Arm are regular Framed Artist Canvas boards I bought at Craft Warehouse. I have 3 this size and one that's 18"x24". I was looking for a way to protect a quilt left on the frame overnight that I didn't finish. It was a White Hand X-Stitched Queen size quilt for a friend, it ended up being on my frame for 2 weeks.

These Artist Canvas are cheap when they are on sale. I use them all the time and they are very sturdy and keeps the cat from using it as a hammock. Under my

frame is where I store 2 rolls of batting. I unroll what I need over the top of the frame bed then use the track as a straight edge to cut. Under the rolls of batting I keep my prayer bench. When I'm custom quilting at the front of my machine I'm sitting at a high bar stool on wheels. I rest my feet on the prayer bench which is 4' long and because of the length I can slid myself pretty easily along back an forth without getting up. I know I'm lazy. Thanks for stopping by for the update.

New Studio Part 2

2010-01-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

The first picture shows the measuring tape attached to the backsplash. Hopefully I won't need to look for a tape measure again. Plus measuring my quilts is so much easier now.

The 2nd picture shows a 17x21 Hard Top Wire Basket Unit from Ikea's $33. The hard top makes a perfect place to store my 18" sq Circle Lord templates. I store my Panto's in the 4 wire baskets below.

The last picture shows a Glass Front Book Case which is located just past the 10' Counter top. The first shelf houses the essential supplies needed for my LA. Such

as Needles, oil etc. Again this has proven to be very

handy.

I hope you like what you've seen so far. Next time I'll show you what's on the other side of the room and under my Frame.

Thanks for visiting today.

New Studio Part 1

2010-01-24T09:23:00.000-08:00

This is the left wall of my studio. It faces the front side of my machine which is a mere 3' away, it's a blessing to be able to have all my LA supplies and tools organized and within easy reach. The 3 vertical Ruler Holders $20 each hold 16 rulers each, they are from www.thecalicokitten.com

The 10' counter top $99 along with the 15"x48" $8 each white shelves, and the 3 Drawer Units $ 50 each are all from Home Depot. On top of the counter top back splash (can barely see it)I taped a long yellow LA measuring tape, making it so easy to measure quilts now. On the counter top is a Olfa cutting mat 23"x35" this size fits perfectly without any hanging over the edge. On the white shelves above the Counter Top I have my wireless Printer it's so handy yet up and out of the way. Also easy access to my Long Circle Lord Boards also, sure beats digging threw the pile they were in before. The 3 Drawers below hold my Thread, in the bottom of each drawer I placed a CD mat 14X20 $ 6 each from Ikea's. The mat keeps the Thread Cones from slipping around, I also put a label under each cone.

Next I will show you my LA Supply Bookcase and Panto Storage also located on this wall. Thanks for stopping by today.

More Studio Details Start Now

2010-01-24T00:06:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all the nice comments and congratulations I've received since posting about my new Venture and Studio. I didn't realize so many personal friends and fellow bloggers were following my blog. I've received Comments, Emails and Calls wishing me well, most had no idea, although many wondered why it's taken me so long to take the plunge. Your confidence is both heartwarming and very appreciated it certainly has boosted my needy ego. It appears many of you want more Pictures and details on where I got all the great gadgets and stuff in my new studio. I will post More Pictures and Details in a Series in the coming days. I'm having trouble getting kicked off line so I will do a separate post for each Picture. Thank you for your interest, support and for stopping by.

New Business & Studio Make Over

2010-01-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

As promised, pictures of my Long Arm Studio. This is the room that houses my Long Arm and where I plan to meet with Clients. It is small (10'x18') but actually quite comfortable and well organized. What more could one want? I hope to be ready

for Business March 1st. Details, Details it's the mountain of details that takes so much time. I'm one who needs to have all my ducks in a row so to speak. Yep, every possible details must be taken care of and done before I can start my business. It's no secret I already own more supplies and equipment than anyone would possibly need in the beginning. My goal is to stop buying Long Arm Toys. I must keep in mind the IRS expects a profit at some point in time. Seriously

I am really beginning to get excited about my new Life venture, like I said before I'm looking forward to the challenges and whatever my Mid- Life job change has to offer. 2010 will be a good year, Wish Me Luck. Thank You for stopping by.

Excitment In the Air

2010-01-21T02:31:00.000-08:00

So much "Life" has happened since I last posted. The good news, nothing earth shattering happened at least if it did I've forgotten about it. I've just been very busy with little time to even sleep. Awhile back I posted my day job of 35 +years was becoming more stressful by the day. Well as of January that full-time job became a Part-time job. Yes, I know way back in October I thought my security blanket had been ripped to shreds. But while I was waiting for my replacement to arrive I got used to the idea and came to realize..."Maybe the Big Red "S" was actually doing me a huge favor after all. All I can say presently; Our heavenly Father above certainly works in mysterious ways, Thank you, Lord.
So what have I been doing? What is Next for me? Actually I am very excited!!! It's been 2 years since I bought myself a Long Arm Quilting Machine. I bought this for ME, with no plans to open a business, how could I? I was working 5-6 days a week. Plus my friend Myree had a shop who needed a Quilter, and I fit the bill I guess you would say. Anyway quilting at the shop fed my Long Arm Quilting addiction I loved doing those quilts, even the wonky ones. Every new quilt that came in was like getting a x-mas present, you never knew what was going to be pulled out of the bag. Then Myree had to move her shop home and she was able to start quilting the quilts herself. I just help her out a little bit now. I like Custom quilting and she likes E 2 E best, so she calls when she has a custom quilt she wants help with. Any who....when Life went south at the Big Red "S" I began to slowly realize it was actually a miracle. Now I would have time to do my own Customer's Quilts and let me tell you I can't wait to see what pops out of my First Customers Bag!!! I bet I'm up all night, not being able to sleep the night before my first consulation. Yep, it's offical. I'm going to be going into business very soon. I'm getting all the legal ends taken care of, setting up my accounting system, transforming my Studio, and Brushing up on my Quilting skills in my spare time. My business name will be Cityview Quilting as I have a view of the entire City of Portland and Mount Hood from my Sewing Room. 2010 is sure to be a good year. I'll be posting pictures of my Studio tomorrow, actually later today. Thanks for stopping by.

It's Snowing!

2009-12-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well the weathermen said it was only going to rain. But here we are with a surprize snowstorm. We've gottin 4-5 inches so far and it's still snowing!! The worst part being our daughter was stuck in her car for 3 hours on the freeway running out of gas and cell phone juice. She finally made it off the freeway and was close to a friend of mines house where she will spend the night. She is simply exhausted having just had major surgery a month ago. I am so thankful she's not having to spend the night in a motel. The freeway is still jamed and there is no way for her to get on this side of town. It's 10pm now, she left her job a 2:30 and didn't reach my friends house until 6:30. Hopefully we will see rain tomorrow, then she can get home.

Catching Up

2009-12-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

Sew much to do, Sew little time, Sew much is happening, I think I'll find a warm quilt... turn out the lights and just sleep through the holidays. But then again I don't think that's a good idea...I'd miss all the excitement and fun.

My Long Forgotten Poncho

A few years ago or more I knitted a poncho but never got around to sewing the sides together. Guess what my dear sweet daughter did? She finished my poncho for me. Here's a picture and it's so warm. Thank you Sharla. She's such a good knitter and fast too. Just like fabric, yarn has gotten so expensive, but the good stuff is well worth the investment. At least that's what I keep telling myself as I continue to add to my fabric stash.

Right now I'm working on my Girl Gang BOM quilt in which ALL fabric used must come from my stash. This is just one of my many resolutions on my list of New Years Resolutions under the category of Be Thrifty in 2010. Here's a picture of the first two completed blocks. Well almost finished I'm missing The Moon...I can't find the right Blue fabric in my Stash at the moment. I'm sure before this project is finished I'll find just the right Blue Moon Fabric somewhere!

I recently finished 2 Fleece Throws. I quilted them using my Long Arm. They were super fast and easy. Will post a picture along with my new Portable Closet I just got for Xmas. I've wanted a covered heavy duty portable closet to store my quilts in. My daughter found this one at the Container Store. She also brought me their catalog...not sure that was a good idea...but I'm resisting... as Cutting down on Impulse Spending is on my list of New Years Resolution also. I intend to wait at least a week before buying anything new I see. Wish Me Luck. Thanks for stopping by.

Time Flies By

2009-12-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

I want to wish all of my followers a very merry Happy Holiday season. I was finally able to do a little shopping this weekend. It was so nice to see the beautiful decorations and I even enjoyed the music.
Our daughter had major surgery the day before Thanksgiving and thankfully she continues to recover unbelievably well. My job is still causing much stress, oh yes I still have my position until after the New Year. My boss was in such a hurry to make a change and now he can't find anyone to fill the spot. But guess what? I don't need the stress or the job so now he's in a pickle.
I bought myself a new Laptop while I was out shopping. A few days earlier a Wacom Tablet arrived in the mail for me. Hopefully tomorrow I can load it. I signed up for an online class at MSResourses called Quilt Whispers by Carla Barrett. She uses a tablet to explore different quilting options for her quilt tops before Long Arming them. Can't wait to try it out. Although I didn't get to participate in the class due to all the termoil happening I still learned lots just reading the class material. I'm going to sign up to take the class again just for the feedback.
I haven't had much time to make quilts or LA any either, but I did manage to sew binding on a few flannel ones. I'll post a picture soon.
Hoping to be back on track in a few weeks. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

A Wee bit early but we had our Turkey today, So Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

I finished the Thimbleberries Quilt and it's on my daughters bed. She claimed it as soon as I had it on the rack. Glad she did cuz I didn't know what I was going to do with it.

I'm quilting a much smaller lap size quilt now 60x72. The pattern is one of my favorites called "Through the Seasons" by Mountain Peek Creations. I've made many flannel quilts using this pattern. Because the center is a single large fabric rectangle the piecing goes very quickly. Quilting it is always fun cuz there's so many options. This time I'm going to be using my Circle Lord. I will crosshatch the outside borders using the CL 48" crosshatch boards. The solid red inside border I'm doing freehand ribbon candy. The next piano key like inner border I will SID between each key.

And on the next stripped border I will do a rippled line with a few leaves, maybe. In the large center area I will do a panto pattern or maybe freehand swirls, who knows at this point.

I wanted to get this quilt on the frame so whenever I had a few spare minutes I could quilt on it. So much is happening at work, no nothing in stone yet, but I won't have the same job in a few weeks..that much I know. I'm so glad the pressure is off. I guess I should be worried, but for some reason I'm not. If I don't get my hours I'll just have to join the unemployment line. And I made a long list of overdue chores here at home that need done. So I have plenty to do and will stay very busy.

Thanks for stopping by.

I'm Still At It

2009-11-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

No I haven't forgotten about my Blog. Life just has a way of getting in the way. I thought I'd better at least pop in. I don't have time to post pictures today, just wanted you to know I'm down near the bottom of the huge quilt that has been on my rack for since mid October. I've only been able to work on it here and there, and at times several days go by without a stitch being added.
As I said in an earlier post I'm basically doing this huge quilt so I'm buried in stitches instead of stress. Has it worked? Well sort of, when I'm not too exhausted to stitch... I've had to make a hard career decision that I hadn't planned on making. Not sure what's going to happen with this yet. Although I feel much better now, just making the decision. Who knows my hobby might have to turn into my job.
I'm going to the monthly Girl Gang meeting in a few days, it'll be lots of fun. Myree came over and helped me pick out fabric from my stash for the first block. I'm so glad for her help, I've never done applique and feel so out of my element. I've always admired and loved this type of quilt, never thought I'd ever actually make one.
Thanks for stopping in. More to say and pictures soon.

Making Progress

2009-10-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

I made some progress yesterday on my monster Thimbleberries quilt. When I turn my machine on again (not sure I'm up to it today) I'll be starting on the 5th top border. Yesterday I finished quilting the 3rd and 4th inside top border. On the 3rd border I quilted

freehand Ribbon Candy. I don't mark my ribbon candy because the marks always mess me up, thus mine aren't perfect, but perfectly acceptable for me. The next (4th)border down on the quilt in my opinion is rather odd. Between the Cornerstone blocks are 6 square blocks, each block has 3 triangles all going in different directions.

For the life of me I can't figure out what to do except to SID, maybe later these blocks will talk to me. The only triangle going in the same direction is the red one. On each end of this row of odd blocks is a plain block, I quilted the motif in this block by using the Aztec Template on my Circle Lord tool. You can't really see the design in the photo well, mostly because I'm using the color Mother Goose to quilt the entire quilt. It's going to be hard enough to remember what I did at the top of the quilt when I get to the bottom even with my road map. I didn't want the added stress of having to remember to change thread colors along the way. Anyway the entire purpose of finishing this quilt is to relieve some excess stress that life has thrown my way. When I'm quilting at my Gammill Machine I only think about where the next stitch goes. Don't think about work and all the needleing comments my boss makes. Tomorrow I probably won't get any stitching done because after work I'm going to the first meeting of the Girl Gang BOM. Should be a hoot.

Thank you for stopping by.

Thimbleberries Progress

2009-10-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

I've been quilting on this quilt for 2 days now. Thought I'd show you what I've done so far. Can't really say I've gotten very far...this sucker is huge. But I've finished the first top border. Yesterday I finished the top 2nd border and a bit down each side of the quilt. Doing what I could on each side between the rollers.

I'm custom quilting this using my Circle Lord tools wherever possible. Boy that Circle Lord makes you look like a pro if you're careful. The motif in the brown block is done with the Ginko template. This is just one of many that can be done with that template alone.

In the second pix you can see a bit of the top border, In the area with berries and leaves I'm crosshatching and I'm quilting Piano Keys in the area with Lilies. This same border is on all 4 sides of the quilt. Again I'm using my CL as a guide. The green and white checkerboard is only a part of the 2nd border along with the brown block shown above. I'm using a 2-1/2"

circle disk to do the CC.

Thanks for stopping in...Gotta Go Quilt Now.

Thimbleberries UFO

2009-10-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

I've been buried in fabric while sitting at my machine for 2 weeks. I only had 1 UFO quilt and could no longer stand to see it sit in my sewing room any longer. So a couple weeks ago I decided I'd get it out and finish it. It is the 2007 Thimbleberries House and Garden quilt, 96"x 118". To my surprise I was only 2 big blocks short. Great I thought...wipt right through getting those done. But then I started the borders, good grief!!!! There are 5 of those suckers and they are PIECED borders mind you. Piecing and sewing these borders on has taken me a week...I've been buried in fabric trying to get this one UFO finished. Well it's finally finished now, pieced that is. Now to get this monster quilted. It so big I don't have a wall big enough to take a pix of the entire quilt. I wasn't at first even sure it'd fit on my rack, I have a gammill premier. Ghee how I love this machine.

Anyway on Sunday Oct. 18th I pinned her on. All went well and I really don't feel crowded a bit. I've drawn my road map of the quilting I plan to do on it. I need this map or I'll forget what I quilted on a top border or block when I need to repeat the design again on the lower part of the quilt. Sorry, I don't float my quilts, so I can't roll back and forth to see what I've done.

So for the next month or two this quilt will be the focus of my blog, I think. I'll post pictures of my progress. I'm also going to be starting a "Girl Gang Quilt. At least I'm going to the first meeting...I've never appliqued so we will see what happens...but rest assured I'll burn it before it ever becomes a UFO.

Sunny Day Today

2009-10-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

I've been sew busy making and quilting quilts lately.

I wanted to show you Bea's quilt I just finished.

She was very happy. It is 64X76 I think.

Got to hand it to Bea, she always finds interesting

patterns to make. And if the pattern isn't much, she'll find just the right bright, bold or monster type fabric that's sure to bring it to life and then some. Her quilts are always interesting and FUN.

I'm almost finished quilting one of the Folk Art Flannel quilts I showed you earlier. I'm using my CL to do the borders and a panto in the center. Should be ready to post this weekend.

Thanks for stopping by.

NW Quilt Expo

2009-09-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

I went to the Quilters Expo Show on Thursday with my friend Myree. We both did our part to stimulated the economy. Lots of Eye Candy (great quilts) I took lots of close up photo's of the quilting done on the quilts. I can't even imagine it yet, but someday I hope to be able to quilt like the Pro's. To help me out I bought Megan Bests book "Spiral Twists" and her Mini SID ruler. She even autographed it for me. Quilter's Rule also had a booth and of course after seeing a demo of the Nautilus Tools, I decided these tools were just the rulers I needed to enable me to someday be able to LA quilt like the Pro's. I realize I will really need to PPP. But a few more nice rulers and tools hanging on the wall next to my LA will also give me just the right amount of support I'll need on my journey. I also added to my collection of Pam CLarks Books and Stencils, I really like her books and use them alot.

Beings I don't quilt for customers now, I have to make my own quilts. So I'm Always on the hunt for good patterns that have a fair amount of open space for custom type quilting. I found a pattern at the Pine Needle with Flying Geese called "Points North". I'll use my new Pam Clark book "Triangle Tango" when I quilt it. That book is filled with Flying Geese Ideas, Thanks Pam.

I'm also a sucker for quilt kits, I just don't have time to shop/hunt for fabric. I found 4 kits to buy and I already have idea's on how I'm going to quilt all of them when I finish piecing them. Actually I saw so many quilting ideas at the show I can't wait to finish piecing and I've already begun. Underneath all the stuff I bought in the pix above is a simple flannel quilt I'm working on. I bought the kit from the Stitching Post at the show. Hopefully my new Circle Lord Thingy will come this week, plan to try it out on this quilt. I love my Circle Lord.

I bought a Kit and 3 patterns from "A Quilter's Dream" they were up from CA. I really liked their stuff and will watch their website from now on. I bought a kit called "Folkalburst" from Thumbuddy Special. The fabric used is the Show's Theme Fabric by Thimbleberries. Glad I spotted this cuz I like the fabric and the pattern. Plus she had the same pattern made with a Batik also, it was to die for. I also bought an autograghed copy of the New Thimbleberries Book" Basic Beauties". Plan to make a few quilts from this book as the patterns have plenty of open space for quilting.

Now for my big discovery of the show, Books and Patterns by Laurie Shifrin. Although they are Batik, I see lots of potential using cotton instead of Batik. I enjoy looking at batik but I'm not a fan yet. Batik always seem cold to me, and I hate to be cold. Anyway Laurie was doing demo's in the Common Thread booth, she was so warm and cheerful how could one not be drawn to her stuff. She even autographed the 3 Books I got. Yep, I'll be a fan of hers from here on out. I even bought 5 of her patterns, one being a Log Cabin Star type pattern, I just love making and quilting Log Cabin quilts.

The last book I bought was "Star Savvy Laps From Fats" by Ellen Replogle. I really like this series of Books and have made many of the quilts from prior books, I see this book is no exception. I hope I live and I'm able till I'm 100, it's the only way I'll even be able to finish the projects I saw or bought just at this one show.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love This Flannel

2009-09-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

As I've said before, I love making Flannel Quilts.

I fell in love with this Folkart Flannel

By Maywood Studio's, so I bought

the entire bolt this time.

So far I've made 2 quilts with it.

On one I used Pink accent

and on the other I used Red Accent.

I have a couple other patterns in mind, but will wait until after the NWQE this weekend before I cut into any more of this fabric. I might

find another pattern there. I'm also

waiting until after the

NWQE before quilting them.

Hope to see Long Arm Quilting ideas at the show.

I heard they've added more space for both Hanging show Quilts and Vendors this year. Last year was a great show can't wait to go now. This is the biggest show in our area and Every year it gets better N better. I spend one whole day just looking at quilts and the other day I spend lots of money.

Thanks for stopping by.

Farm Fresh Produce

2009-09-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

I went out to the farm and didn't forget the camera.

The Plum tree is loaded and just starting to ripen up enough to pick.

Next is kwii. They won't be ready until late Oct. This is the first crop to ripen in 3 years. The winter's here have been so bad they lost the crop. The kwii is about the size of your thumb, I perfer these over the usual store ones. Now if they just ripen up before Winter sets in.

The next pix appears to be Apples, but actually is Asian Pears. Again there Tree's are loaded, and almost ready to pick. They also have

Peach and Pear trees but they've been

harvested already.

Lots of Purple and Green grapes on the Arbor too.

We picked 2 buckets of Blueberries. This picking was nice because we left the net covers off the bushes as we finished picking. Now the rest can go to the Birds.

My car was full of Produce, Sharla will take some to school for the other teachers and I'll give some to Friends and neighbors.

Moms Pets

2009-09-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post Moms Pets. Here's Peachee. Yep she's treated just like one of the kids if not better. She's always bathed and groomed. Spoiled rotten she usually has pancakes and fresh layed eggs for breakfast, and people food for dinner too. During the day she loves peas,plums and tomatoes or anything else she finds out

in the garden.

These are 3 of the 4 hens. They each lay an egg a day. One of the hens lays her eggs standing up, so her egg is usually cracked. This cracked eggs is what Peachee gets for breakfast.

Thanks for stopping by.

Comments

2009-09-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

For some reason visitors are unable to leave comments and I'm at a loss why or what I need to change. After a stressful day at slaveway I need a few sweet comments.
UPDATE, I figured it out...All sweet comments are now excepted.
Thanks for stopping by.

I have a new flannel quilt to show you that's made with Maywood Flannel. Will post soon. Stay tuned. OK, just a peek.

Finished My Irish Chain Quilt

2009-09-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

It took a week, but now I'm done quilting and binding my Irish Chain. This is a quilt that almost wasn't. I really didn'tthe color tone combinations. I almost gave it to the goodwill...then decided it's so b like ig it'd make a great practice quilt.
Now that it's done...I hate to admit... but I like it. I've never freehand quilted leaves before. Don't know why I hadn't done them...but I found they to are quite simple compared to feathers. Frankly I don't think you can ruin a leaf...just look on the ground, "are all the leaves perfect?"No. Some are windblown and tattered, some have been walked on. Some have even been rained or peed on. Others just lay in a pile of mush cuz they've been driven over and squished. Now if my leaves were to appear squished I'd surely pick them out. But I rarely pick out my mistakes...all my quilts are for practice so I strive for perfection, but do not sweat imperfections. Thanks for stopping in.

Freehand Leaf Block

2009-09-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is what I'm doing in the big open blocks on the quilt I just posted. By time I'm done my freehand leaves should be looking much better, I hope. If not, oh well it's just a quilt. A practice quilt at that. All my quilts are practice quilts until I give them away, then they're gifts made with love.

Thanks for checking in.

Where Have I Been?

2009-09-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

Stressed out at work...enough said. Now for the fun stuff I've been up to. I'm working on this 86"x102" Green Colorwash Chain quilt.

I've been at it every chance I get. It seems to have miles and miles of CC's, thought I'd get those out of the way then go back and do the borders with Vines N Leaves. I wasn't sure at first what I was going to put in the focus showcase blocks.I knew I'd have to draw my own design because the blocks are 20" sq. and I knew I didn't want feathers. Then it hit me as I was looking at a clotheshanger of all things...I could do 4 branches/vines that connect in the center, the outer part of the branch would be shaped like the hook of a clothes hanger. Now that I have this all figured out I'm on a roll. Stay Tuned for the finished result. Plus I'm going to the Fall quilt market this weekend hope to find/buy lots of goodies.

Tomorrow I'm going out to Moms...does she ever have tomatoes...why she planted 30 plus bushes for just her and dad I don't know but I think she obsessed with tomatoes. If I'm lucky the Plums will be ready to pick and the pears are still coming on so I should be able to get more of those also. If I remember and it's not raining I'll get pictures of the chickens and Pechee. Thanks for stopping by,

Terry

Fleece Feather Quilt

2009-08-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much free time to quilt lately. Between work and Dr. Appointments for both myself and DH I've been very busy. Plus I'm trying to keep up with the Feather Bootcamp Class I'm taking at MQS. Here's the fleece Quilt I stitched out for the class. I've never LA'd on fleece before and I like it. No piecing and no batting just load 2 pieces of Fleece and away you go. I might even do a panto on fleece later. Will have to wait for a sale on fleece although this finished quilt is cheap compared to what a regular quilt would cost to make.

I've also put together a couple of fall wall panels that I've had for a few years. It's too windy to take a picture and I haven't quilted them yet. Probably won't either this year the way it's going. I'll just add them to my closet of quilts that need quilting. In couple of weeks there's a show coming and I hope to find the perfect quilt to make for my brother. They just bought a mini farm. Moving from Florida to NC. I can understand moving out of Florida but the farm part, sounds like too much work at my age. I'm heading to the beach.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bento Box N Circle Lord Stuff

2009-08-13T18:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't had lots of free time to quilt lately but I did managed to finish this one. It's a Bento Box Pattern.

I quilted it using a giant template from Circle Lord called Zig Zag and Waves. I didn't stitch out every line of the template, I skipped every other Wave Row. For an E2E pattern I like the appearance overall and the texture of the quilting, now that it's finished. My daughter suggested to make another quilt but use Red, Black and White. Maybe someday.

On my rack now I'm killing two birds with one stone so to speak. I have loaded one of the sample quilts I made quite awhile ago from a pattern called Treasure Boxes. I actually taught this pattern to a class of beginner quilters. That was loads of fun and I wish I had time to teach. I found I actually liked teaching. Anyway I'm using this quilt for an online class and I'm also trying out the New Crosshatch giant template and Stylus Popper Upper from Circle Lord. It's the first on-line Long Arm Quilting Class I've taken. I'm taking it at MQSolutions. The class is called Feather Boot Camp by Suzanne Earley who by the way authored Meandering Magic. We are into week two and I'm learning lots about the structure of feathers. I'm learning how to draw better looking feathers. Although my feathers looked ok before, there was lots of room for improvement. Hopefully I'll be able to fix and quilt beautiful feathers someday soon. So far I haven't quilted any feathers yet, I'll do that tonight. But I did get to try out my new CL Crosshatch template and popper thingy. The stylus popper thingy allows you to stitch/quilt from the front of the machine. It seems to work really well and seems much faster. I think I'm going to like my new toy.

Thanks for stopping by today.

I Love UPS the Mailman

2009-08-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's been so hot lately but it's finally cooled off. Now maybe I can get back to Quilting instead of sitting by the fan. Both the UPS and Mailman brought me presents yesterday.

UPS brought me Giant Boards and the Stylist Lifter for my Circle Lord. I got both Crosshatch sets because I couldn't make up my mind so I got both.

The Mailman brought me 1 new Books and 4 new Patterns. These came from www.cozyquilt.com I haven't used their patterns before but they appear to fit my new criteria for buying. I'm only buying patterns/books or quilt kits now where the patterns are suitable for custom type quilting.

The other Book I picked up at Fabric Depot it's called Quilter's Peace by Gathering Friends. It has several patterns that beg for custom quilting...that is is if I ever find the time to make them.

Thanks for stopping by.

Too Hot To Quilt

2009-07-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks for stopping in today. It's been so hot this week,
I sure hope you can feel the cool breeze of my fan.
I finish quilting this small quilt in the wee hours of morning. Now I can just sit in front of the fan all day while I sew the binding on.

The pattern is called Crazy Eights, you use 8 fat-quarters.
To quilt the body I used the Giant CL Template called Water. I use this template quite a bit to meander with.
The Borders were added as an after thought, just so I could try out doing Deb Levy's Circle Borders using the CL.
Deb has free and paid videos on the MQS forum.
To view this videos you must be a member but it's
well worth the small yearly fee.

By the way I usually don't make such ....quilts but I'm determined to start using up my stash of fabric and batting pieces. These ugly quilts make great PPP quilts for the Long Arm and to PPP using all the tools I've invested in.
Thank you for taking a peak today, come back soon.

CL Template Holder

2009-07-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon, I'm glad you stopping by.

I'd planned to go and pick berries at my folks today but I was called in to work instead. So now I have a bit of time on my hands and thought I'd blog etc for awhile. I tried posting a picture on the APQS forum of the Lid Holder I use to store my CL templates but had trouble with the Pix, I don't feel up to retrying it right now it's just too hot outside and inside to deal with the stress if it doesn't work again. I'm just not good at resizing pictures, I always end up with a cropped picture part, instead of the whole picture. Anyway here's a picture.

Stop in Again anytime.

2 New Quilt Tops

2009-07-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hello, Thank You for stopping in today.

I promised I'd post these Tops. The first quilt is called

Bento Box Updated. I made it using the Kit I bought last weekend at the Sandy Quilt Show. Makes a nice size lap quilt

60"x75". I won't be able to quilt it until I find the backing fabric. Part of the Quilt is batik fabric so that's what I'll shop for. I'll quilt it on my Long Arm either freehand or using my Circle Lord tool. Either way I plan to do a E2E swirl Pattern.

The 2nd quilt top is called Crazy Eights.

It's made using just 8 fat quarters.

I wanted it just a bit larger than 36" square so I used 9 fat quarters. my quilt is 46"x54" with borders. The original pattern doesn't have borders and originally mine didn't either. But then I watch a primier video by Deb Levy offered at the MQS forum. Can't say enough about how much I enjoy and learn by watching these videos at MQS. So I added the narrow border just to try out Debs Circle Border Design. The best part is that the design is done using a Circle Lord Tool. I love my Circle Lord. And I learned a new way to use it by watching the video.

Thanks for coming by, stop in again soon.

My Present Arrived

2009-07-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, Thank You for visiting today.

Yesterday I received a present to myself from Full Line Stencils. Talk about fast service.. I'd just ordered these a few days ago. I've never used this line of stencils before but always wanted to try them out. I've heard really good things about them. I Can't wait to try them. I'll let you know later what I think, I'm about ready to load a new quilt. I'll show you my next PPP quilt top in my next post. Plus I'll show you the Quilt Top I just finished piecing.

Have a great day and please stop in again.

Retirement Quilt

2009-07-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Now don't get too excited, unfortunately it not my retirement, at least not yet. I made this quilt for Mary who was my back up at work. We'd been a team for a several good years. She's been gone for a few weeks now and I miss her already. Good people are hard to come by and so far the fill- ins have just been that... fill ins. Enough about real work. My blog is meant for the good times.

Back to the quilt. It's an all flannel quilt, the fabric is a rose pattern by Maywood. Mary's lucky to get this one, as this is my favorite all time fabric pattern to date. I machine quilted it on my long arm using a Circle Lord giant pattern board. It's a nice sized lap that hopefully will keep her toasty this winter. Anyways have a happy retirement Mary. Hope you have a bit of time to sew. Best Wishes.

Quilt Show N Berries

2009-07-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

I went to the Quilt Show in Sandy Oregon. Although it was a very nice show I noticed a difference this year. There didn't seem to be as many quilts displayed as in the past. I also noticed more of the quilts were quilted E2E vs. Custom. Again, there's nothing wrong with E2E as a lot of E2E is really beautiful and exactly what the quilt calls out for. I'm just more interested in custom work, I'm always on the look out for something new or different that I haven't done before. Needless to say I didn't take pictures, but I did spend a little money!! I just can't resist buying quilt kits especially if I love the fabric, the pattern has great LA Quilting potential and/or the price is right. So my purchase of the day was the kit pictured. I'd never done a Bento Box quilt before and I've wanted to. This is the new Updated version. The show sample was quite nice plus the kit met all my buying requirements.
After the show I went to my parents farm. I picked 2 containers of marionberries. Oh they are so
big n sweet! Then on my way home I dropped one container off at my friend Myree's.
Would have been a perfect day, except in the back of my mind I knew I had to go to work today.

Life Got In The Way

2009-07-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yep, life has gotten in the way of being able to do any Long Arm quilting lately. Although, I was able to make another set of pillowcases since my last post. Plus I happily used up some of my stash doing so. The Fabric has cats plastered all over it. No wonder it was in my stash, I don't know why I bought 2 yards at the time except, it is cute fabric. I'm not really a cat person but my DH is. Maybe I'd planned to use it in a quilt for him? If that was the case now he can sleep on it instead of under it!
I won't be doing any quilting today as I'm going to a Quilt Show out in Sandy Oregon put on by the Sandy Historical Society. I'm rarely able to go to shows or events due to a rotten work schedule. But I do try and make this one and the one in August down at the beach in Newport Oregon. Both are worth the trips.
In some ways I'm glad I didn't get to quilt this week because I found Carla Barrett's Blog. On her blog she has some very nice practice motifs with diagrams for us beginner Long Arm quilters. Lucky me I happen to have a practice quilt on my rack now that is only 1/2 finished. So I'm thrilled I'm going to be able to try them out right away. So hop over to Carla's blog if you haven't been there yet. Thank You Carla for helping us newbee's out.
Have a great day everyone.

Still PPP

2009-07-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm still PPP on my Turning Twenty, Again quilt, that's pinned to my rack. I can see, I do need lots more PPP's on my feathers, pebbles and everything else. Although part of the reason it looks bad is my thread doesn't match. I did this on purpose hoping to master tension along the way beings I'd plan to use all kinds of thread. My Ima really loves Yenmet Matallic thread, I'll try superior later. I bought some Sulky at Market I want to try also. I plan to try all my odd (ones I haven't used before) threads at some point on this quilt. I'm going to use Sew Fine in the bobbin with all the threads, this way I have a base in which to gauge the tension settings to.

The picture with Crosshatching is my first ever attempt at hatching. I used my new crosshatch ruler set-up by Westalee Designs that I ordered form Quilters Rule. I like the ruler.

I found a U-tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLnrC9yo8tY about how to make a sausage Pillowcase, the one with the enclosed french seams.I already had the kit but no instructions. It was very Quick N Easy. I think I'll be making more.

Now I'll spend the rest of the day PPP my feathers and a new fill I found called 3's N' E's. I'd seen this fill before but always thought it was a computerized fill. Sew happy to find I just might be able to do it, cuz for now I don't have a computer. Have a Great Day!!

The Cat lost her Hammock

2009-07-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

Whenever I had a quilt pinned to my rack, I would usually find that the cat had used the quilt for a hammock. To solve this problem I bought Artist Canvas boards that were the width of the rails. For my Gammill Premier I bought 24x36" boards. Now when I'm finished quilting for the day I lay the Canvas boards

on the rails over the quilt.

Poor kitty no longer has a hammock to sleep in.

Thought I'd share this with other cat owners who's

kitties love sleeping in a hammock also.

Next Up

2009-07-09T10:35:00.001-07:00

I've decided that I need to practice doing Feathers and background fills. I also want to use some metallic thread here and there. Wish me Luck, I've used "Yenmet" and "Superior" Metallic thread on my Long Arm with sucess, but at the time I only quilted a small area. I belong to the MQR forum and Adam showed a sampler quilt using the Turning 20, Again pattern. At the time I thought it ended up longing great and later I'd do the same. So now that I was looking for something to do... low and behold in my closet of quilt tops I found this "Turning 20, again" quilt. Having so many different size areas, it should make a good sampler, although I'm not sure it will end up being a quilt to show off. I really don't care for the fabric plus I'm using muslin for a backer. I'm using muslin so I can easily see and adjust my tension for the different thread combo's I plan to use. I'm not afraid to dink with the top or bobbin tension although I 'm still learning the in's and out's of the Long Arm tension beast. Well if I want to make progress today I'd better sign off for now.

Circle Lord Sampler

2009-07-07T23:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a lap size sampler quilt I did using the Circle Lord.

You can do millions of motifs with this gadget, now I wished I'd noted which template I used to create each of the designs. Live N' learn they say. It's an easy tool to use and sew much fun. Wish I had more time to play. I'm still trying to decide what to load next.

Finished, What's Next?

2009-07-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today I finished quilting this quilt for a customer of a friend of mine. I really like this pattern and the fabric she used. I'm really happy for the opportunity to quilt it, as the pattern is one I really wouldn't want to piece myself. One of the beauties of being a Long Arm Quilter is that you get to admire and quilt other peoples beautiful quilts. Ones that you yourself might never have the time nor the experience to piece. Most of the time its a Win, Win situation for the Piecer and Quilter alike.

In returning this quilt to my friend I saw some new fabric and an autumn panel that just arrived. I really don't need a panel nor do I need any more fabric...but I couldn't resist. although the panel should be good practice on the LA, and I have visions about what to do with the beautiful rose wide back fabric...I see a new Bedspread and Pillows... so stay tuned.

Now, What to put up on the rack next? I have a Flag Quilt, A couple of Turning 20 Again, 2 Log Cabins, 3 House Calls and a least 20 other completed quilts to choose from. I really want to practice my feathers and SID, but then again I just bought a New Autumn Panel that lends itself to some really neat quilting opportunities. So once I make up my mind.. I'll will show you next time what I have decided to do.

On to Quilting

2009-07-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

Now that Family, Pets and Home introductions are out of the way, I can begin to focus my blog on quilting. That was the main reason I started this blog in the first place. My family is a little bored with my hobbies, they just don't get as excited as I do about my quilts or my Long Arm quilting. My outside full time job is a bit stressful and physically harsh on the body so I really need a low key relaxing hobby when I'm home.

A couple of my good friends, Myree and Martha are into quilting so I do have someone to chatter with and who understands, gets excited and motivates me. Myree until recently owned a quilt shop, now she works from home. She does BOMs and among other things she sells kits. She also has a Long Arm that I named Busy, because he sure kept me busy. She does E2E quilting for customers and I think Busy is still busy. If you need a quilt quilted Edge to Edge I have a link on this blog to her Blog. Although I also have a Long Arm named I'ma I generally don't do customer quilts yet. I really loved doing customer quilts, it's so exciting to see what they pull out of their bag, but for now I just don't have time. I want to practice custom quilting on my own quilts and would like to enter a few local shows in the future. Time will tell what tomorrow brings.

My friend Martha does alot of embellished Art type quilts and wall hangings. She relies on her DSM to quilt them and I must say she does a fantastic job. She is so creative. And she has many other creative talents such as furniture and sea shell painting, knitting, basket weaving, and has even blown glass.

I'm done rattling for now as I have to get busy quilting. Myree did twist my arm and talked me into doing a customers quilt for her on my rack. The customer wanted and actually needed a custom job done because she'd already started quilting it by hand. I've got it finished except for the borders, now I'm a bit stuck on what to do.

Rock Garden

2009-07-04T07:32:00.001-07:00

As promised here are the pictures of our rock garden and raised beds. The pretty rocks were all collected from the central oregon coast. We have 4 tumblers going most of the time. Each load takes about 6 weeks of tumbling to completely polish each batch. The raised beds take up a good portion of the back yard. We took out the grass area.

Our Beach House

2009-07-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well I'm still learning. Here is the Picture of Our Beach House and the Beach where we collect pretty rocks that Hubby tumbles. He has tons of polished rocks. Recently he made a large rock garden in our back yard in town, it is really cool. I'll take a picture and post it later. We can't see the beach but we can hear it pounding in the distance. It's an easy walk and we have good access. On a good day the Central Oregon Coast is breathtaking. Most days are good days at the beach.

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

It sure was hot, got up to 92 today. My hubby and daughter went to our beach house, I have to work this holiday so I couldn't go. I really don't mind because I

get a lot more done when I have the house to myself. Actually I'm not alone, we have an ugly white cat with 2 different colored eyes that keeps me company. She leaves her hair all over my quilts and makes sure I know who's boss. Meet Snowflake. My hubby found her at work and brought her home. You'd think she'd be more thankful to now have a nice cozy place to call home.

This is a picture of our quaint little beach house, it's small but very nice inside. We gutted the inside. Actually the bathroom and kitchen are larger than our house at home and nicer too.

Welcome to my blog

2009-06-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

I finally did it!! I'm sew excited, was a bit scared but I did it anyway. I created me a space to showcase and show off my quilts and other stuff I do. I love to make quilts..Lots of Quilts and I also love to Long Arm Quilt them with my Gammill Premier Plus. Presently I only have time for my own quilts because I work outside the home. But one day I plan to do customers quilts again. I really like the challenge of doing customer Quilts. To me it Felt like Xmas everytime they pulled their quilt out of the bag.

Hope to have Pictures up shortly as I can't wait to show someone what I love to do.