December projects.

 

Hi there!!  Can you believe Christmas has come and gone?  It seems like time never stands still and these past few months have flown for me. I managed to accomplish a lot (as far as quilts) this past month.  So, I wanted to share them with you all in one post.  I hope you don't mind.

The quilt above is my friend Emily's.  I always have so much fun quilting for her.  Her quilts are fun, bright and wonderfully unique.  She has a beautiful style that is completely her and each quilt she makes is a thoughtful gift. I am so glad that we are friends. 

 

I played with the flowers in the border. Sometimes the fabric lends itself to the quilting and the free motion quilting is always so fun and relaxing. 

 

It's the perfect bright and cheery quilt for the cold weather we've been having. 

 

Next up, a total surprise for my sister Amy.  Her daughter, my niece Brooke is now working for us by shipping out orders for our website. She is an avid piecer, who loves fabric just as much as I do, so naturally she and I get along very well!  ;-)  Anyway, she wanted to give her mom a quilt for Christmas and I told her I would sneak in the quilting for this special quilt.  I chose a simple free motion swirl for the quilting, but I think it turned out fantastic.

 

 

I love the texture of a newly quilted quilt. So gorgeous! 

 

The pattern Brooke pieced is called "Norway" by Camille for Thimbleblossoms.  We have the pattern available in our shop here. I just love the design in red and green, perfect for a Christmas quilt.

By the way, Amy loved her quilt!  It was a wonderful surprise.

 

My own special quilt was in the works and has been for a couple months.  When I found out that Downton Abbey fabrics existed, I knew I needed to make a quilt for my husband.  We have date nights cuddling on the couch watching the Downton Abbey seasons together.  It has been one of our favorite things to do together as a couple after we put the kids to bed. I wanted Clint to have a quilt to remind him of the fun times we share together.  

 

I showed some sneak peeks of the quilting on Instagram, knowing Clint wouldn't see them. I chose to quilt an allover free motion feather swirl - tutorial here and I think it turned out fantastic.  It is amazing how finishing 3 quilting projects in 2 weeks can make me feel so refreshed.  I can get overwhelmed and burned out from custom quilting, so these quilts have been so therapeutic for me as a longarm quilter.

 

Clint proudly displaying his quilt yesterday.  I didn't have time to finish the binding before Christmas, but he was thrilled with the quilt.  He was so sweet and told me how much he loved it.  He reminded me that I haven't made him anything since before his lds mission 16 years ago, it was a fleece-flannel blanket that he toted around in Romania for 2 years. So, this quilt was a lot more work and had more sentiment attached to it. He loves it. 

 

 

I finished the binding today and here is a view of the whole quilt.  I think it turned out perfectly. It is my own design that I drew out specifically for Clint. Originally I wanted to have all the blocks be stars, but for the sake of time I had to adjust half of the blocks to be a little more simple without the star shape.  I am glad I simplified the pattern because I was able to finish in time for Christmas. 

 

I love it.  

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and were able to spend time with family and loved ones.  I am looking forward to a new year and all that it will bring.  Talk soon.