I saw this pattern on Instagram recently by Initial K Studios.  She used Blue Kona Solids and it’s stunning.  I had just received an awesom fat quarter bundle of the new Art Gallery Smooth Denim fabrics and had to make this!  I used Carolyn Friedlander’s Carkai for the borders and the quilting is all digital custom work.  It looks beautiful on our bedroom wall!

Quilting straight lines is fine with me, especially when I am quilting for Elizabeth Elliott @libselliott.  Libs is an incredibly talented quilter living in Toronto, Canada.  Her patterns are spectacular, see my Rebel quilt below, and her new fabric line called True Love with Andover fabrics is being released in June.  I am so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to quilt for her.

How could I resist taking part in the #ombreminiswap hosted by @modernhandcraft, @the_tattooed_quilter and @nydaik.  It’s the perfect opportunity to use more of my favorite Ombre Solids from Vanessa Christenson and one of my favorite patterns Sequoia by my good friend Pam Raby @lovedtopieces.  I used the Statler to quilt the Kindling design in the background and used my straight and curved rulers by The Quilted Pineapple to do the rest.  I hope the recipient is happy with it!

My mom is truly one of the most talented people I have ever know and she happens to be my closest friend.  To name a few, she paints,  knits, sews, and is a fantastic quilter!  I was thrilled to quilt this gorgeous quilt for her.  I used the Easy Orange Peel design, with the wool batting it just pops!  I love the backing, it’s pretty much a requirement for me now that all customers have to use Tula Pink Free Fall wide backing.   This is a king size quilt and the back didn’t need any piecing!  It’s a double sided quilt!

One of my favorite aspects of quilting for customers is that you never know what’s coming.  I couldn’t believe it when I received Rosie the Riveter from my favorite repeat customer, Diane.  It was a challenge to come up with a design that really highlighted the strength of Rosie and yet wasn’t too overwhelming with all of her amazing blocks and fabrics.  I chose a design called Superstar by Natalie Gorman.  I thought it worked perfectly!!

Thanks to social media outlets like Instagram I have been hired to create some pretty spectacular quilts!  These two came to me from a new customer by the name of Ruthie Windsong, her name is enough to delight me!!  The first quilt is from a new fabric line from Tula Pink called Chipper, the pattern is the Scrappy Trip Along.  I fell in love with this quilt, her fabric choices and placement are amazing.  The moment I saw this quilt on Instagram, even before she hired me, the first design that came to mind was Water Drops from Natalia Majors.  Although you can hardly see the quilting on the top, the chipmunk fabrics and spirals made me think of a dewy meadow so I thought, Water Drops!  The back is my all time favorite fabric from Tula Pink called Free Fall, it’s 108 wide so it makes the perfect backing and it has a beautiful sateen finish which quilts like a dream!!  I think Ruthie will be very happy with this quilt!!

The second quilt Ruthie has named “The Beast”!  Apparently this was a quilt that has been in the works for a very long time and she finally got it done!  First she had planned on me doing custom work which would have been a dream come true for me but once her daughter saw her completed quilt she said she had to have it.  Her daughter wants to make it into a duvet cover so her thought was to have very minimal quilting.  We both agreed that the design, Diagonal Plaid by Patricia Ritter was the perfect choice.  I used a large scale to quilt it and I think “The Beast” turned out beautiful!

I am very grateful for the opportunity to quilt for Ruthie, and her daughter!!

Looking for a little project one weekend a friend of mine suggested I should make Libs Elliott’s Rebel Quilt, she said it was super simple!  Ha, that’s not true but it was worth it in the end.  I love this quilt so much, I used a fabric line from Vanessa Christenson called Ombre Solids, along with some Studio E and my favorite Tula Pink Free Fall backing.  The quilting design is Pick Up Sticks.  I was lucky enough to get to  meet Libs when she was in town teaching at Modern Domestic, she is so awesome and she is coming out with her own fabric line any day now with Andover Fabrics called True Love!  I can’t wait!!

My customer Jan brought me this precious dresden applique quilt.  The fabrics belonged to her grandmother and the quilt will be given to Jan’s daughter.  I enjoy custom quilting so much and I just love how this turned out!

This quilt was a joy to quilt and seeing how much my customer loved it was priceless!!!

 When I discovered quilting I was completely astonished how the contrast of light and dark fabrics could completely transform a quilt, it blew my mind!  I fell in love just playing around with fabrics, “wow, look how the entire quilt changed just by turning that one block”! 

When I started free motion quilting it was a challenge to get my body and mind to work together to  relax and create designs.  Soon it became like painting to me.  That is how I feel about quilting, the fabric is a blank canvas that I get to paint with thread! 

The best feeling for me is when I get a call from a customer that would like me to quilt for them.  Each time it’s like a brand new invitation to create something new.  I am excited and my head swirls with ideas and it’s terrifying all at the same time!  It’s a challenge that I welcome with open arms because seeing a customer’s face when they see their quilt is priceless!  The excitement and happiness and sometimes tears of joy fill me with delight!