Yes, you read that right! I had the cutest elephant mini quilt on the longarm last week and had the most fun quilting it up.
You know you’ve done something right when the client looks at the quilt and can’t contain her smile. She loved it, and that makes me love even more what I get to do every day.
I started the quilt with a vague idea of what I wanted to do: I knew there should be a sun, I wanted a crosshatch behind the water spouts, and there should be lots of doodle-type quilting all over. So that’s what I did.
I quilted the crosshatch first, and stitched around all the little applique pieces. Next came the sun, and it was pretty easy to do. Then came the fun part! I just started quilting. There are paisleys, funky feather things, pebbles, swirls, flowers, flowers with feathers, a leaf or two, and echoing to fill in some blanks. I didn’t think about it, I just started stitching.
Start to finish it took me about 3 hours to quilt this piece that measures 18″ x 25″. The crosshatching took the longest. The background was way easier but I would stitch for a bit and then walk away and do something else. This kept me from tensing up and overthinking it. I’ve been wanting to quilt something like this for a long time so I was super excited when this piece came along. And to top it off, Sandy gave me another mini – this one with birds and birdhouses – that I can’t wait to get loaded up! The ideas are already bouncing around in my head! LOL
Have you ever stitched this doodle type of quilting? If so, is it something you like or not so much? I’d love to hear your thoughts on quilting without a plan.
I also finished the star quilt I showed you last week, and it is now back home with the owner. I didn’t get a picture of the full quilt. It was so big and when the sun was out my quilt holder wasn’t available so it just didn’t work out. But I did get a shot of one corner of it after it was quilted:
I’m so happy with this finish, but more importantly, so was the client. This one was a lot of fun and even though there is a lot (LOT) of stitching, it worked up quickly. This was my first time using Glide 60 and it’s a great thread. I’ll definitely be using it in other quilts. I also used Superior Threads Magnifico for some shine in those green and gold fabrics and it performed like a star! (See what I did there? 🙂 ) I was very happy with both threads. Oh, and in the bobbin was my go to, Bottom Line by Superior.
This week will be super busy. I have appointments on Monday and will be working at the shop two days to help out during shop hop. In between all that I have started on the next custom job. This one is for Cheryl and I have to give her kudos for all the great piecing on this quilt.
I’ll share more about this quilt once it’s finished. It’s pushing me creatively and that’s exciting.
As I write this there’s another storm brewing. Thunder is rolling and the rain has just started hitting the window. I can truly say I am ready for some dry and warm days. I would love to have some pool time sometime soon!
I hope the weather is beautiful wherever you are, but if it’s not it’s a great time to spend some time sewing! What projects are you working on? I hope you’ll share them here – you can link up any blog post, Instagram or Flickr pic. Here’s how:
The elephant turned out soooo cool! Hope it’s dried out a bit since Monday. It got warmer here, but not drier. The humidity is killer! Hope you’ve fared better on the good weather front.
I love love my little elephant. I know my GD#1 will be over the moon on her birthday. She’s so crazy over elephants.
Score! There’s no wonder that your customer had a big grin when she saw her little quilt!
I love your elephant, and your star quilt, stunning quilting!
Just beautiful quilting!
That graffiti quilting on the elephant quilt is fantastic!! I’ve done it a couple times (in the background of Lone Star quilts), and I really do love it!! It hides imperfections well and the result is just stunning. Seeing yours makes me want to do it again!
Beautiful. When I load a quilt on the frame I never have a plan. sometimes I just start moving the machine. Twice after the quilt was loaded I instantly knew what I wanted to do. The more quilts I complete with different designs the easier it is for me. Feathers are the easiest for me but I cant do feathers all over for every quilt.
Nice job! I think I would enjoy a time of “doodling” like you did. I just need to find the perfect piece to practice on. 🙂 Blessings…
Both quilts are spectacular. I am not a doodle quilter…. not that I can’t appreciate your work. It is fabulous. But my “artistic” ability is very limited. Plus most quilts I do are for everyday use so I prefer lighter quilting that my computer can guide. (Ok, I’m a bit jealous of your talent but too lazy to actually try to do anything like it!)
Hi Beth! Wow, that elephant mini is really cool and you took it to the next level with your quilting. The sun was absolutely necessary especially with that background. All of the quilts you shared this week are lovely. Nice job! ~smile~ Roseanne
As soon as I saw the detail on the elephant quilt…I couldn’t help but smile! It’s like searching for hidden items in a photo! It’s so well done and pretty perfect!
That elephant cute is wonderful and your quilting did what Angela stresses, enhance the piecing. 🙂 The star one–glorious, Beth! Love the ghost squares (you knew I would) and the dot to dot and L’s curves you did in the border. Wonderful work. It’s been gloomy and RAINY seems like forever here too.
The quilting on both quilts is just perfect! Indeed I am with you, we need some warm sunshiny days, to much gloom lately.
Your quilting is just fabulous! That little elephant is perfect, and I like that you gave him ground to stand on and a sun shining overhead. The star quilt is a show stopper!!
Love how you quilted the elephant mini, it brings the design to life. I especially like the sun. I have that pattern but it needs to be printed bigger and I have never managed to work out the printer settings. Maybe I will have another try.
The elephant quilt is fabulous and I love your quilting!!
-Soma
What a cute quilt and I love what you did with the quilting! That star quilt is just stunning!