Quilts for Betty

Lately I am quilting faster than I am taking pix! Which is a good thing with PIQF and the holidays coming up in the all too near future :0) At the beginning of this month Betty brought in 4 quilts, all of which she has picked up. Love her work and especially love quilting for her, one of my favs :0)

Check out this cute baby quilt...

This is the row print mixed in with other fabrics that Betty used to make this cutie

and the kangaroo quilting design that worked perfectly for this quilt!

LOVE my Innova!

Above is the backing, a pretty ribbed knit similar to Minkee... very soft and cuddly

and ever so stretchy!!! again, love my Innova!

 lots of cute Aussie Babies :0)

A 2nd quilt Betty brought in was actually pieced by her small group part of our quilt guild.
It's a quilt top they started during our guild's community service night this summer.
(Just as many longarmer's do... my quilting time is donated to community service)

Also guild related... this was a guild's recent block of the month
Betty won all of these blocks made by guild members...

and now they are Bee Haven!
That's the design from Anne Bright I used to line up to each of the blocks
 to finish off this fun quilt

and last is a quilt Betty made... I believe the name is Maisie Daisy

Very graphic and very scrappy!

 Quilted with Echo b2b also by Anne Bright

Definitely some very fun quilts!
Thank you Betty :0)

These were finished a week or so ago... many more have come and gone
some with pix and some without
Having a hard time keeping up!

Tot ziens, Jo

BTL ~ Back to Longarming!

Back from Boot Camp at Quilts on the Corner. Spent the holiday weekend getting back on track after a week of longarm training. I blogged about my experience on my personal blog Ramblin' Rows... here is a link. If you are a longarmer I highly recommend going to Renae's Boot Camp. It's sew worth it! I learned allot, looking forward to using new ideas, tools and growing with my craft.

More pix and info HERE 

Tot ziens, Jo

Studio closed until Sept. 6th

As planned, I am headed for Sandy Utah tomorrow for a longarm boot camp at Quilts On the Corner. 4 full days of hands on training for my Innova longarm. 3 days of hand guided training, machine maintenance and more, trying out different threads, marking pens/methods, longarm rulers and tools. Day 4 will be all about Mach 3, the new software platform that will replace Auto Pilot. 

I am sew excited! Classes are being taught by Renae Haddadin, award winning longarm quilter. Most recently won Best in Show at AQS for her longarm quilting. She is an Innova dealer and owner of Quilts on the Corner which carries thread & longarm tools including Red Snappers, a product Renae developed. 

Something I've wanted to do since I bought my Innova however, unable to get away while taking care of Mom. Now, it's time and timing is good because now I don't have to learn the new software on my own!!! Yea. I am a hands on visual learner, so this is a good option for me to learn the new system. 

The week is followed by the Labor Day weekend, so... the studio will be closed until Tuesday Sept. 6th. Have many appointments set up for the week I get back. Looking forward to seeing you all then! 

Enjoy the week and the upcoming Labor Day weekend

Temps here in the North Valley are predicted to be much cooler this coming week, 

hope that holds true for the week I get back! 

Tot ziens, Jo 

Custom for Janie using new longarm tools!

Janie made this cute little applique quilt

With lots of little HSTs! Great fabric choices and color :0)

Simply quilted with Garden Party in the borders and corner stones. 

Scrolls added in the sashing and cross hatch with outlining in the blocks.  

Love the loft with wool batting from Quilter's Dream :0) 

Threads are from Superior.

Got a chance to use my new crosshatch ruler for this quilt 

as well as for Judy's applique quilt.

The ruler is attached to a new dead bar with a groove in it 

so I can move the ruler from side to side.
And... my zero center tape fits on it!!! Yea

Here the angle is set at 45 degrees. There are more options. 

It's really nice and stable to have the long ruler that is anchored at the dead bar 

and long enough to rest on the belly bar. 

Here you can see my new extension bars as well! These are the new ones from Innova 

that have the power buttons added to each handle. Big improvement over using 

my mountain bike climbing handle bars!!! 

It's good to have new toys tools :0) 

Thank you Janie 

Tot ziens, Jo

Innova Video: Proper Bobbin Winding and Tension

Periodically Innova posts new YouTubes that are helpful to Innova owners and at times for other longarm machine owners as well. In the spirit of sharing information and ideas with other longarmers, I plan to share them on my blog. Welcome Wednesday! Jo

Janie's Crazy Quilt

Crazy Quilt made by my friend Janie 

Janie has her quilt after I basically just stitched it down for her 

using invisible thread so that her beautiful machine stitching would shine! 

This quilt started after I gave Janie oriental fabrics from my stash. The Floral print in the center of each block is one of them which became her focus fabric, pulling fabrics from the fabric gifted to her as well as from her own stash. In fact, I see three fabrics from Amaretto Cottage that we worked on together last year. Foundation pieced onto muslin, then Janie added her decorative stitches, sewed the blocks together and added the green stitching. Beautiful! She added the borders and then started adding embellishments. I had to stop her at that point! "No more metal objects until the longarm quilting is done" was my request! 

  

I used a smoke invisible thread from Superior to stitch down the blocks. First time that I've used it on my longarm and my Innova handled it beautifully! This machine just keeps amazing me! I switched to a black SoFine50 to add a design in the borders and some white to SID along the inner border. Last was to add Janie's binding, the same gorgeous fabric as the backing...

Batting is Quilter's Dream Wool 

Gorgeous quilt Janie! Thank you

So happy you joined us for lunch yesterday!

I have one more quilt to finish today to complete the month with every quilt promised in March quilted. It was a crazy busy month and April looks to be about the same, overbooked trying to squeeze in quilts along with those set aside last year after Mom's care and passing. Crazy business is longarming. Crazy as a quilt!!!

Tot ziens, Jo 

Lori's Flags of American Revolution

Buttons and binding

is what's next for this wonderful quilt 

made by Lori ~ Humble Quilts.

I had the best time quilting this quilt and it could not have been at a better time for me and the Fourth of July holiday coming up. Flag Day would have been appropriate as well, altho I got to enjoy Lori's quilt that day while finishing the quilting ;0) I loved working on this quilt!!! Each block is different and was quilted with a different design working with each of the applique motifs. Much thought went in to each block with the goal of adding texture with minimal, understated design. Love prim :0)

  echo 

  outlining

 Ruler and grid work... love my Innova!

 The center of Lori's quilt...

 

77 x 77

Flags of American Revolution

made by Lori ~ Humble Quilts

Pattern by Jan Patek

Quilted by Jo ~ Moonbear Designs

Batting is Quilter's Dream natural cotton Select. 

Thread is Omni by Superior Threads. 

I used Camel (good blender) and Dark Slate on the dark fabrics.

Thank you Lori!

Your applique is amazing!!! 

This quilt is a QAL that Lori hosted in 2014 on her blog. This morning Lori posted pix on Humble Quilts as well. Thank you Lori and to everyone that commented on the quilting. Made my day and lifted my spirits, both the comments and the time spent quilting this quilt. A very good feeling as I work thru the grief with the recent loss of my Mom. Again, Lori, I can't thank you enough for trusting me with your quilt. Hugs, Jo

Two for Claudia

This 64 x 64 quilt made by Claudia 

is completely made with "Brights" by Marcia Derse prints

Claudia picked the quilting design from the internet

just for this quilt. It's by Apricot Moon called Cool Beans

Wonderful prints and color! Wow

The backing is also from Marcia's line

Perfect for the backing! Claudia has a great eye for design

putting together these fabrics as well as the quilting design. 

Claudia's second quilt is a baby quilt 

made with Sandy Klop's American Jane prints

Quilted with Bubbles Everywhere

without the swirls

A design by Sweet Dream Studio

Love how Claudia often pieces her backings

Thank you Claudia!

Note to my customers, besides picking design ideas that you see here on my website, you are always welcome to pick something new from the internet like Claudia did. There is so much to choose from! Be sure to pick something available in .pat format formatted for my Innova longarm system. Tot ziens, Jo

A quilt for Claudia, Mom and turn around

First, this is a quilt made by one (I have several!) of my best customers, Claudia

I considering myself VERY fortunate to have such wonderful customers... it's amazing!!! Love my job because I get to see and quilt so many different quilts

Semi custom quilting with a border/corner design from Anne Bright named Pearl Feathers

The center field is an e2e, also designed by Anne named Seaweed framed with SID.

Great design with wonderful even coverage and flow.

Wool batting and three threads, Signature and Omni,
two in shades of gray and a dark burgundy for the inner border.

 The backing... paisley print, what's not to love! Great fabrics!!!

I love to see quilters use good quality fabrics for backs.

It adds so much to a quilt.

The rest of my blog post is about my mom (NQR) and my turn around time

Helena, my mother is amazing. Born in the Netherlands, survivor of the German occupation of Holland. Came to America following WWII and marriage to my dad in the late 1940s. They became citizens and started a new life. Fast forward... we moved Mom here to Northern California with us following the death of her husband, my father. She was already in the advanced stages of dementia. So not easy! That was eight years ago and it's still so not easy. I had to set up a Conservatorship thru the court of California simply for the 'right' to take care of my mother. The cost has been incredible with annual hearings and accountings. It's insane! Advice... make sure YOU and your family have directives and a Trust you are comfortable with in place.

Friday morning Mom fell. She cut her face, we believe from her glasses. She was taken to the ER, despite a POLST. Cuts taped and unnecessary tests revealing... again, nothing. She is 99 and there is nothing 'medically' wrong with her... except dementia, which you can die of, but care is not covered by insurance because it's not deemed medical. Frustrating! Other than low O2 sats and a cough, she was released. I took her back to her care facility, went home for a shower, picked up a RX for her cough and spent the rest of the afternoon with her and listened to the rattle as she breathed. If anything takes her, this may be it... and it would be OK. It is heartbreaking. While I was with Mom, Michael went to Immediate Care because there is something going on with him. The PA could not figure out what after a few tests. Michael just called me, waiting in line for a blood draw, glad to find a lab that was open. It's a bit much and I am not getting any quilting accomplished.

Brings the subject back to quilts, turn around time and custom hand guided quilting. Custom quilting is tricky, especially estimating time. For the time being, I am not accepting new quilt work orders for custom hand guided quilting.

Presently my turn around is October going into November with any one of these digitized design options: e2e, e2e with a border/corner set or my custom e2e where I am able to change the repeat pattern or line up a design to a quilt top block pattern. Straight set, alternated or set on point, the patterns are set up on each block, linked and then run like an e2e. To change a repeat, I am able to take them apart, flip, mirror, alternate and then link them back together and run the new pattern that is created like an e2e. I've gotten really good at it on the Innova with Auto Pilot. BTW, my Innova, I have decided to name Helena, for my mother and my Auto Pilot system, will remain Hal because that computer does, on some days, really have a mind of it's own!

Many of my customers are happy with digitized designs and they really do look good! Maybe not as organic as hand guided because the stitching is... perfect... because it's digitized. Some people love it, some... not so much. That's OK.

Again, and I can't say this too many times, thank you to my customers. I appreciate each and every one of you so very much. I know that I have lost a few existing and many new customers recently due to my present turn around time and please know this does not set well with me. I wish so many things but reality is what it is and no amount of wishing will make it different. I will always do my best. Thank you for your understanding. Have a wonderful weekend. Take some stitches! for...

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave."
Native American Proverb

Tot ziens, Jo

Karen's Cathedral Square

Cathedral Square

A two color pattern by Linda Ballard

Quilt made by Karen G

quilted by Jo @ Moonbear Designs & Quilting

with... feathers! feathers and more feathers!

Wonderful BIG setting triangles wide open for quilting :0) It was the dark fabric print that motivated my decision to quilt a feather design. Literally one triangle design, flipped, mirrored and linked to create all of the feathers in the center field of Karen's quilt. Have I mentioned... LOVE my Innova and Auto Pilot! The light fabric is one of the Stonehenge fabrics and really made the trilobal poly variegated thread sing! I used one of the original Fantastico variegated thread colors. Love!
 

This is the center of Karen's quilt. The same triangle linked and spiraled into a square. The triangle design is digitized by Jamie Wallen. A wonderful talented longarm quilter, now an Innovian. Yea! Jamie has done Utubes most notably on taming tension. I picked up his design, Feather Flurry on Digi-Tech. The border/corner design is from One Song Needle Arts by Donna named Sacred Journey.

 Above is a single version of Feather Flurry and below
a double mirrored version along with the Sacred Journey border design.

  

Thank you Karen

I love this quilt and enjoyed quilting it for you!

See you soon :0)

note: Linda Ballard will be teaching 2 workshops next month in Chico! May 7th at Honey Run Quilters at Cathy's and another on May 8th thru Annie's Star Quilt Guild. Two different patterns by Linda. Donna and I are signed up for one of them! Linda will also be our guest speaker at the May 7th guild meeting. Come join us!!!