Love is in the Air

February is the month of love! And there are so many things to love... family, friends, pets, the world... and QUILTS! I realized that I still have more catching up to do since I didn't post much of anything for awhile there. So, first up is my proudest accomplishment, Lone Star for Mom! Way back in June of 2018, I wrote about a border quilt that I had started making in early 2016 during a class Mom and I took together at a local quilt shop. Well, I finally finished that quilt last year, quilting and all! I am completely in love with it. I requested a set of quilting patterns from Sweet Dreams Quilt Studio, and they definitely provided. The only patterns I changed out are the curved crosshatching ones around the center lone star, which I got from House of Creations. I learned several things in the quilting of this quilt. First, I learned exactly how much easier it is to use point-to-point patterns instead of ones that are individually placed on the quilt. Second, I learned that it's okay to use thread that doesn't match every fabric that it touches, especially when the pattern covers multiple fabrics. LOL! Lastly, I definitely learned where my limit is when it comes to heavy quilting!!!

Close up of Lone Star for Mom, still on the machine.

Overall view of Lone Star for Mom

Back of Lone Star for Mom

Next, oh my goodness, I forgot to mention in my last post that I finished the update of the Yuletide Joy quilt pattern, and it's out on the website!  This is the winter/Christmas version of Mom's seasonal "Joy" quilt patterns.  It's a cutie!

Original Yuletide Joy quilt.

I also quilted a couple of custom jobs for my friend, Becky.  The first is a semi-custom, where I did custom work on the center applique block, and then a nice Baptist fan over the rest of the quilt.  Super cute and I love how it turned out!  The second quilt I did for her is totally custom.  She made a cheddar version of Afternoon Delight and asked me to quilt it as close to how Mom quilted the original as possible.  Success!  Best of all... this quilt won Best in Show at 2021 Piecemakers' Quilt Guild of Corsicana show!  Becky does a wonderful job making quilts, and I know Mom would have loved the cheddar.  I must be getting pretty good at this quilting thing.  LOL!

Overall photo of Becky's applique sampler quilt.

Closeup of center applique block.

Shot of the back of the applique sampler quilt.

Overall photo of Becky's cheddar Afternoon Delight.

Closeup of some of the blocks.

Overall photo of the back of the Afternoon Delight quilt.

Next up, a couple of smaller projects that I completed toward the end of last year.  Both are products of the Skill Builders club at Methodist Hill Quilt Studio.  As a member of the club, each month I receive a set of quilting patterns, instructions for using them for various products, instructions for piecing a simple top (if necessary that month), and video instructions that give helpful hints and tips.  Every time I complete a project I learn a ton of information about using my longarm!  The poinsettia is a Hoffman panel.  I made two red and two white, and gave three away as Christmas presents.  Oh!  And, I added crystals to all of them... my first venture into blinging a quilt!  Note that I used different patterns on the leaves behind the flower... both were included in the set.  My lesson learned from these?  With the red ones, I double batted, which gave me a lot of grief in trying to get them to lay flat.  I think I'm settled on sticking with single batting from here on out!

Red poinsettia panel quilt.

White poinsettia panel quilt.

The pillows are my own version of the very first Skill Builder, which was to make Let It Snow pillows.  At my office, which I have not really been to in almost two years now (!!!), some remodeling was recently done and a new collaboration area was added at the end of my floor.  A friend asked if I could make some pillows for the area, with our organization's logo on them.  Yes!  Of course I can!  I traced the logo in the quilting software and then applied the lessons I learned from that original Skill Builder.  They turned out perfectly!

OP, for the Office of Procurement, hot off the longarm.

Both pillows testing out their new home in the office.

Last quilt to share for this month isn't one I made or one I quilted.  I haven't shared a quilter's quilt in awhile, and this one just took my breath away!  Linda Jahraus created her version of The Angel Quilt, and thoroughly modernized it!  She used some beautiful, bright colors and fabrics, and changed parts of the pattern to really make it her own.  And the quilting, done by Beth Cardozo of Willow's Charm Quilting Studio, is absolutely perfect.  I love it, and I know Mom would have also!

Linda's version of The Angel Quilt.

I have just one more picture to leave you with.  I don't think I've said it before, but anytime we have a bee at my house and a quilt gets laid out on the floor, Mr. Wiggles, our little Pug fur baby, sits his butt right in the middle of said quilt.  He did exactly that when I laid out Lone Star for Mom to take photos.  The picture reminded me of the cover photo for the first season of Handmaid's Tale, and I just giggle every time I look at it.  Have a giggle from me!

Keep on quilting!

Jenny