My Blog Is Moving

As of today, my blog is moving to my newly redesigned website ... http://www.quiltsfromthetrail.com/

I'm really excited that everything will now be in one place!

Be sure to bookmark my web address so you can come back often!

Thanks.

Patti

Did you know . . .

. . . you can click on the pictures of the quilts and see a larger picture?

Just thought you'd like to know...

Patti

Just when everything was going so well . . .

I've managed to get quite a few quilts done this week but not without some hiccups!  While working on a project for an event coming up next weekend, I noticed that as I was quilting my machine was resetting the stitch length on its own.  I would set my stitch length to 11 and the next thing I know it had dropped down to 9.  Then it decided it would "speed up" (increase stitch length) while I was quilting.  My machine tech's "diagnosis":  I may have a bare wire inside the machine that's causing the problems.  My first concern -- will it catch on fire if I use it?  I was told no, but to not "overwork" it.   So ... the end of this month, while I take some time off from quilting, my machine will be heading to Iowa for repair and a complete check-up to make sure everything is working properly.  I would like to thank all of my customers who had quilts scheduled this month and allowed me to move their quilts to October after my machine comes back - I truly appreciate your patience and understanding!

Busy Busy Busy

I can't believe summer is almost over . . . September is only a week and a half away . . . where has it gone? I've been working to get my quilting "caught up" . . . actually, I guess I never want to be "caught up" as that would mean I don't have any quilts coming in. So, I suppose I should rephrase that and say, "I'm working to get your quilts completed and back to you as quickly as possible!"

Here's what I've managed to get done since last posting photos . . . .

Barb A. made this fabulous t-shirt quilt for her son.  A simple meander was all it needed.

Barb found a place (unfortunately, I can't remember where it was) where they printed the picture of her son (and a few of the other non-tshirt blocks) onto a white tshirt fabric.  The result was fantastic - pictures that were soft and easy to quilt over.

My "gift" to Barb was a machine embroidered  quilt label for the back of Pete's quilt.  I'm currently working on samples and pricing so I can offer machine embroidered labels as one of my services. 

Carrie M. created a beautiful quilt with tans, reds, blacks and whites. 

Carrie chose the panto, "Feathered Meandering"

Carrie used a white backing with little flecks of black and red -- the red thread really looks fabulous against it.

Cheryl D. made this very contemporary looking throw. 

The blocks were about 18" square so a simple "X" design wasn't going to keep everything in place.  I suggested the lines spaced 2" apart and Cheryl and I agree it looks great.  She plans on further embellishing each block with a large button in the center.  A simple vine with leaves is stitched in the sashing/borders.

Cheryl also brought me a little flag wall hanging she wanted quilted.  We went with a cross-hatch design in the field of embroidered stars and a half-feather design in the stripes.

A closer look at the stripes.

Dese H. - This cozy log cabin quilt is for one of Dese's grandsons.  (Simple Meander)

Dese H. - A "sporty" four-patch for another grandson (Simple Meander)

Julie W. - Julie found some fabulous Hawaiian barkcloth squares on a recent trip to Hawaii.  We agreed a pantograph called "Hibiscus" was the perfect choice.

A soft green thread complements this throw.

Karen M. - A beautiful quilt of reds, greens and browns.  I love the log cabin border.

Panto:  Come Dance with Me

Midge F. - Midge brought me this beautiful Texas Star quilt.  It was started by a friend of her who was recently died in a car accident; Midge finished the quilt for her friend's husband.  The entire quilt was hand pieced.  There are 117 full stars and 13 - half stars --- each star a different fabric.

Sue B. -- I got so used to Sue bringing me t-shirt quilts that I was surprised when she laid this out on my table! 

Corner stones were "cross-hatched", continuous curve in the pinwheels and a flowing half-feather in the "logs" of the block.  A vine with leaves was stitched in the sashing.

A feather in the outer border with an "s" shape repeated in the middle inner border.

Sheri D. - A lovely 9-patch set off with some custom quilting.

Continuous curve in the nine-patch with a ruffled feather in the alternating blocks.  A half-feather is stitched in the outer border.

As you can see, I've been a little busy. 

In addition to the quilting, I've been working on a website redesign.  My daughter recently redesigned my website using software on her new Mac.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize it would be such a pain for me to try and update my site on this end.  I've worked most of the day today and redesigning the site and am slowly getting there!  I didn't realize how much work goes into the design process -- editing websites hasn't been too bad, but starting from "square one" is another thing!  I really appreciate what my daughter, Ruth, does on a daily basis!  I a very thankful mother that I have such a creative daughter!  Thank you, Ruthie!!!!

I also spent a lot of time today updating my Webshots photo site.  I didn't realize that I hadn't added any pictures since early 2009.  As a result, as I was adding pictures, I realized I couldn't remember the customer's name for a lot of the quilts.  I also realized that I failed to take pictures of a lot of quilts that went out my door and back to the customers before I could get a picture.  So, if you don't see a picture of a quilt I recently completed for you - I apologize!  Or, if you see yours on Webshots and I left off your name, let me know so I can remedy it.  My webshots address is http://community.webshots.com/user/quiltsfrmthetrail.  I uploaded over 200 pictures today, so grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy the show.

Time to head to bed now .... it's been a long day sitting in front of this computer and I'm ready to stretch out my legs and relax!

Until next weekend . . .

Happy quilting,

Patti

I'm back . . .

After weeks of dealing with my "bum knee", I can finally say my knee is feeling good.  I'm not quite 100% but it sure is better than what I was dealing with when I last posted.

I'll have lots of pictures for you this weekend ..... I'm working to get "caught up" from the past few weeks.  

I did want to let you know about some new pantograph designs I just got in.

Hibiscus - 15" (highest point to lowest point of des; ign) - Great on summery floral quilts.  I purchased this at the request of a customer who brought me a quilt made with fabrics she purchased in Hawaii (her quilt is on my schedule for this week so be watching for pictures).  Level 3 Panto will run you $25 per square yard for quilting.  (Note: To determine total square yards of your project multiply the width by the length and divide by 1296 [example - 60 x 60 = 3600 / 1296 = 2.78 square yards]; quilting would cost you $69.50 for a 60 x 60 quilt.)

Drip - 11" (highest point to lowest point of design)  Another "summery" design.  This one looked like a lot of fun!  Level 3 Panto will run you $25 per square yard for quilting.

Holly Berries - 10" (highest point to lowest point of design)  Just in time for your Christmas quilts.  I'll be using this on another customer's quilt in the coming weeks.  Level 2 Panto will run you $22 per square yard for quilting.

Come back this weekend and see the customer quilts I've completed the last few weeks!

Have a great week and happy quilting!

Patti

Total frustration . . .

I met with my orthopedic doctor yesterday about my knee pain. Solution: Another shot of cortisone (last one was two years ago). Only problem . . . per Dr. S. I am to "take it easy" the next couple of days to give the cortisone some time to do it's magic. No stairs . . . quite the problem when the quilting machine is in the basement! At least he didn't say the dreaded "s" word --- surgery!

Hoping to be back to working on your quilts by Thursday!

Happy quilting,

Patti

Life is what happens . . .

"Life is what happens when you're busy making plans!" A great quote by John Lennon and exactly what I found happening since my last post, as I was busily planning my quilting schedule. "Life" included:

• A trip to the ER after experiencing some "eye disturbances". Dr. ruled out TIA/stroke and detached retina. High blood pressure readings didn't help matters -- highest during ER visit -- 200/108! Scheduled a visit to Edina Eye the next day; Dr. diagnosed my episode as an "eye migraine" ... basically a migraine without the headache.
• Our granddaughter, Harmonie ended up coming a day earlier than planned for her weekend with Nana and Papa! Since Papa is in a sling, it's hard for him to "entertain" her so that responsibility fell on Nana!!

Harmonie

• My sister, Sue and her hubby, Doug (from Michigan) were in town visiting their oldest son and his family --we all got to spend an afternoon together before the weekend.
  
• A weekend visit up north to visit my other sister, Trina and her family. Trina and hubby, Sandy, live on a beautiful lake. Needless to say, a weekend of total relaxation and not having to do much of anything was much needed!
  
• Back in town ... and back to work .... at least that's what I thought! My knee had been giving me a little trouble during the weekend. By lunchtime Monday, my knee felt like it was four times normal size. Ice packs and Advil were my friends for the rest of the week. I'll be seeing my orthopedic dr. on Monday to see what's up ... maybe a little shot of cortisone is all I need!

I did get some quilting done though, so here's a look at what I DID accomplish over the last three weeks....

Sheila M - Meander

Sheila M - Closeup

Patty M. - Alaska Quilt

Patty M. - Meander

Patty M. - Meander

Both the Alaska quilt and this one had yummy chocolate Minkee backings

Sandi S. - Custom Quilting

Sandi S. - Closeup

Lola H. - Fall Table Topper or Wallhanging!

Lola H - Closeup

Kris H. - She made two baby blankets - girl and boy....she didn't know which one she would be giving to her first grandchild....by the way, it's a GIRL!

Girl Quilt - Panto: Dancing Daisies

Kris H. - Baby Boy Quilt

Kris H. - Baby Boy...Panto: Loops and Stars

Karen H. - Two Art to Heart table runners

Karen H. - Closeup

Cheryl P. -- Cuddly flannel quilt for her granddaughter. Her granddaughter's first and middle name are on the left border, last name on the right border and her birthdate on the bottom border. The rest of the quilt was meandered.

Cheryl P. - Close up

Cheryl P. -- Queen Size Thimbleberries quilt -- used Panto: Feathered Meander

I did get a couple of other quilts done as well ... I'll add those on next weeks post!

In the meantime, be sure to take a little time to smell the flowers.....

Have a great week!

Happy Quilting,

Patti

What a crazy week!

It has been a bit of a crazy week around here. Hubby was released from the hospital on Sunday after going through a complete shoulder replacement surgery. Then there was the mid-week trip to the airport -- Mom was heading back home to Michigan. So I've had to squeeze my quilting in between playing "nursemaid". Now, nine days post-op he's doing really well and not needing my help as much.

So, here's what I did manage to get done this week.

Jill H. - This baby quilt actually belongs to one of Jill's friends. She made it for her first grandson.

Jill H. - A closeup of the alternating blocks -- I quilted a little bear in these blocks to coordinate with the embroidered bears.

Jill H. - This one is Jill's. A sweet 9-patch, on-point in 30's reproductions.

Close up -- I used the pantograph, Daisies Galore.

Jill H. - A bright twin quilt using the Spring Fling line by Me and My Sister for Moda.

Close up: Used pantograph, Florine's Flowers -- one of my favorite pantos!

This last quilt was actually started my week off and was quite the challenge. I've had the quilt in my "to do" bin for about a year --- it belongs to my sister. The quilt was actually pieced by our grandmother back in the 1960's. I'm not sure what the block would be called -- it's like a mini-Lone Star in each block. The picture doesn't really give you the true visual impact of this quilt. The blue and red diamonds "glowed" under the fluorescent lights of my longarm (as did the green -- almost lime -- sashing between the blocks). The red fabric is actually polyester VELOUR ... perhaps in it's previous life it might have been a bathrobe. The green is either a poly/cotton blend or pure polyester. The diamonds in the center are pink and purple fabrics . . . I couldn't quite figure out how they worked with the rest of the fabrics in the quilt.

Grandma is gone now but this quilt, as well as many others she made over the years, will live on. In a future post, I'll have to share the polyester double knit Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt she made for me (it was hand pieced by Grandma and hand-quilted by my Aunt Maxie).

Until then, have a wonderful weekend! Here's to a productive week of quilting!

Happy Quilting,

Patti