Completed HST projects

[DebbieWolf]

I finally finished by quilt! I combined two of Edyta's patterns to get where I thought it needed to be. I started out with the Mountain Top design, decided it needed more, so I made three applique blocks from Edyta's Sweet Sixteen pattern.

[DebbieWolf]

Debbie, that is so cool! Love how you added the lovely applique!! Good job getting it done!

[Renata]

Debbie,
How you combined the two designs is so novel and interesting. How do you plan to use this quilt? What size is it? Congratulations on a job well-done! I really like it!
Renata

[Renata]

I finally sent my pictures off to Carol this morning!! I am so excited that we will have a book of all the fabulous quilts from our exchanges!

Here's "Stars Around the World"

[DebbieWolf]

Michelle, your quilt is beautiful! Congratulations on getting it finished and pics off to Carol.

I'm still having a problem getting a really good picture. I want to take it outdoors and the wind keeps playing with it. I haven't finished the label either, but I'm close.

[DebbieWolf]

Debbie,
How you combined the two designs is so novel and interesting. How do you plan to use this quilt? What size is it? Congratulations on a job well-done! I really like it!
Renata

The quilt is quite large, 80" x 100", since it grew as it went along. Once I decided to add the row of applique blocks, that added another 20" unexpected inches. It really needed more than just the Mountain Top blocks though. It was definitely a quilt without a true plan, but it was fun to do. I plan to use it in my guest room. I have a couple of rows of Mountain Top blocks left-over and I'm thinking of making a pillow topper instead of shams. Had I used those other rows of blocks, it would have been way too long. I had to stop somewhere!

[Renata]

Wonderful guest room bed covering. In my mind, I was imagining it as a bed quilt but did not want to assume. Thanks! Renata

[Reetzbobeetz]

Debbie I love your quilt and it is totally unique too! Michelle, your quilt pattern is lovely and as for that quilting, beautiful. How did you get all those perfect circles in the border? Amazing.

[Renata]

Michelle,
your quilt is beyond beautiful! The way you juxtaposed the creams and other colors makes the quilt jump out and grab you! The quilting is delicious, and I too, would love to know more about how you got the perfect circles in the border. May I also ask what you your process was for pulling together the beautiful quilting design you got for this beginner who wants to learn :?: :P :?:
Renata

[Renata]

Thank you Debbie, Renata and Rita. Glad you like the quilt.

Okay, here's my secret: I have been professionally longarm quilting for almost 9 years. After 6 years, my neck and back (and feet too!) were not so happy with the physical effort longarming takes. About 3 years ago, I added an Intelliquilter Robotic System to my A1 Longarm. I still do freehand quilting, and love to combine my freehand with digital quilting. However, for Stars Around the World, I challenged myself to only use digital quilting. Even the SID is done with the robotic assist! I will say that I don't think this was any faster at all... however, it is less strenuous to let the computer drive the longarm around the quilt, than for me to do it... a longarm head weighs about 45 lbs, and while they should move easily across the quilt, it is still a lot of work.

So, the curlycue designs in the triangles, squares and rectangles and the feathers with the pearl centers were done by editing, sizing, rotating, scaling, and placing digital designs each individually in each area, then having the IQ stitch them out. The rows of pearls were created by the IQ from geometric shapes, then I placed multiple runs of pearls about 12" long, each run set one at a time, in the areas I wanted them, and let IQ stitch them out. In the dark triangles, I did Continous Curves, again by placing the arcs in sequence and having IQ stitch them for me. The Stitch in the Ditch (SID) in the border areas was also placed first, then stitched by the IQ. I used Quilters Dream Batting for the lovely loft, and So Fine Thread.

Now, all that said, any quilter can do pearls!! They are really nothing but a circle, and a half circle stitched on top of the first circle, then again and again, to create a continuous line of circles. It really is only a matter of Practice, Practice, Practice! Domestic machine or longarm, you can do this!!

Renata, as for my 'process', I knew I wanted some curls type of quilting design to soften the hard edges of the quilt design. I planned the quilt setting so that I had large white space for my quilting. From experience, I knew that the center square, 4 diamonds, and outer areas would look great with a coordinated quilting design... I just had to audition a whole bunch to find the ones that worked! I probably spent the better part of a week trying out different quilting plans on the computer screen, before taking one stitch! Then, to accentuate the spin of the stars, I did the swag shaped feathers in the white area of the stars like a pinwheel. When I saw that the spines had pearls in there, I then knew that I wanted pearls in the border area to complement that. The Continuous Curves is one of my go-to designs for sawtooth triangles. They always look great!

I could have done feathered wreathes and feathered triangles and that would have been pretty too. I also thought about putting an embroidery in the middle with the SOTTT info... but that never came together. There are always so many ways to quilt a quilt... the hardest part is deciding!!

My best advice is just keep making quilts, and keep quilting them! You skills will improve as you practice. There are lots of great DVD's for freemotion quilting available, for both the longarm and the domestic machine, not to mention books and online videos etc. Buy the DVD's, take classes on machine quilting, invest in yourself and your quilting, and you will learn and improve your skills. You can do it!

[Shirley35]

Debbie and Michelle, your quilts are just beautiful. It's so exciting seeing everyone's quilt. I can hardly wait for our book to come out and the dead line isn't even here.
Shirley35 Iowa

[Margo]

I need a link to review the instructions for submiting the file to Carol and what all is suppose to be included. I don't know why I didn't bookmark it. Lois

Check here, Lois: http://forum/friendship-triangle-exc...our-exchanges-

[AlohaJo]

Michelle & Debbie I love your quilts and am so glad you completed them on time! I had the same problem with getting a photo and the wind didn't cooperate so I finally called my wonderful quilt shop and she agreed I could photograph it there on one of her lage display areas.
Can't wait to see the book Carol is doing!

[AlohaJo]

Maryjo, what a great idea! I borrowed a quilt stand from a friend, and set it up in my foyer facing the living room. I used two daylight bulbs in metal reflectors which were hanging on the back of chairs to light it up. I took a bunch of pictures, and edited them in Photoshop Elements to brighten and color correct them. Out of about 60 pictures, I finally got 7 that I liked.

It sure would have been easier to just go to the LQS...

[AlohaJo]

Debbie - you quilt is utterly beautiful and now it seems all those hst's are back in the guest room, this time minus the rubbish sacks :wink:

Michelle - another great quilt to see. I am dying to see the finished book it is going to be so inspirational.

Here is a sneak preview of mine - DH got a snazzy new camera with 16 mega pixels (swoon, swoon) and since it has been raining cats& dogs off and on all week, I got permission to use the school hall, where I work (and just over the road), to hang my quilt for the photographic session this afternoon.It hasn't been blocked, because quite frankly I've nowhere to do it. It hasn't been washed yet either, because I didn't want to worry about bleeding batiks before the photo shoot!