A GIFT FROM MY CUSTOMER GLORIA KOUBA

When Gloria came to pick up the memory quilts that I made from her late father's shirts (which you can see by clicking here), she brought me this wonderful gift! I have it on a shelf outside my quilting room.

 

I love it! Thanks, Gloria!

KITTY CAT BED BY REBECCA LATHAM

 Okay, it's not technically a quilt, because it is not quilted!

I've been meaning to make a little cat bed for one of Prim's favorite sleeping spots. She jumps up on this coffee table to look out the window and relax, and her claws have started scratching the wood a little bit. Plus, although she doesn't seem to mind the hard surface, I wanted to make her a soft, cushion-y place on which to rest. 

 

I found a jungle cat fleece remnant (50% off!) at a JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store, and the piece was big enough to make the perfect size kitty cat bed for the table. The bed is four thicknesses of the fleece, plus two layers of leftover very poof-y wool batting.

 

I simply sewed around three sides, turned it right side out, then folded over the fourth edge and sewed it closed. Prim took to it right away!  

QUILTY CATS WALL HANGING BY REBECCA LATHAM

 

I've made two wall hangings for my foyer, one for Fall and one for Winter, so I decided to make another one that works for Spring and/or Summer. I found a cute panel in a quilt shop several months and just now got around to working on it.

Here's the thing about panels: They are always skewed, and if there is a border in the design, you can be sure that it is going to be crooked. There are videos on Youtube that show how to straighten them out, and I've tried them all! I even tried hanging it up so that the grain could fall back into its natural form, and that didn't work either after hanging for several months. So, I just went ahead and made the wall hanging anyway, even though the printed borders are crooked.

 

This is the panel after I tried to straighten it out, and you can see how wonky all the printed borders are. It started out even worse than this. I decided that if I ever buy another panel, it will have no straight lines of any kind that will end up looking crooked!

 

I found these two border fabrics at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts. The purple batik was the perfect shade, and the swirly fabric looks like it was made to match the colors in the panel! 

Normally, I am not the kind of quilter that buys extra fabric. I figure out how much I need, then buy that amount, with maybe an extra inch just for good measure. At JoAnn, you buy fabric by the inch, and do not have to buy 1/8 or 1/4 yards, like you do at most quilt shops. If I am shopping at a quilt shop, I need to go up to the nearest 1/8 yard. 

 

This time, I decided to get a few extra inches, for no particular reason. As it turns out, I measured the panel wrong, and it was larger than I thought. If I had only bought what I needed, I would have had to go back to the store! I ended up with enough fabric for the borders and binding. So here is the quilt top, ready for the long arm.

 

I looked through my catalog of digital quilting designs, which you can find here, but none of them was quite right. I jumped over to my Wish List at Urban Elementz and found the perfect design! It's called "Espresso", and it has swirls that compliment the swirls in the panel. I bought the design, added it to my catalog, and started quilting. It wasn't until after I was halfway finished that I realized that the design also had the petal shapes that are in the panel! I love this new design, and I'm glad that I can now offer it to my customers. As one of the reviews said, "Plays well on fun, casual quilts as well as elegant pieces." So true!

 

 

  

For the binding, I used the same swirly fabric as the outer border. I love the way it came out, and I can't wait to hang it up when my Winter wall hanging comes down on April 1st!

Here is a short video of the quilt being digitally quilted with my Tin Lizzie Ansley 26 quilting machine and Butler Perfect Stitch computerized system. Maximize the screen to maximize your viewing pleasure!

 

 

If you are a quilter looking for affordable rates for your latest project, give me a call! Don't quilt, but looking for a great gift for a special person in your life? Or maybe you want something special for yourself. I would love to design and create a quilt especially for you! Contact me for details at 815.735.0997.