On my longarm today—Looking ahead to Christmas

August 31, 2016 Lovelli QuiltsLeave a comment

One of the best times of the year for me is coming just a few short months from now–Christmas. I love to give gifts, to make gifts and to decorate my house with special things which are made by ‘makers’ or ‘artisans’ such as the tree skirt above. The tree skirt, which can also be made as a round table topper, was made on my longarm, then I assembled and bound it. It is beautiful in this pure white Kona cotton, but it would also be beautiful in a variety of different fabrics. I’m thinking of making another version in silk.

In addition to tree skirts, I plan to quilt pillows, placemats and table runners for the Christmas season. . . I need to get started today, to get everything done in time. Last Christmas everyone received a UFO under the tree (not my finest moment). We did have some laughs over that and I’m sure my family won’t let me forget it. I plan to pace myself this year and manage my time time better. My goal is to have everything done by Thanksgiving, so I will be posting ideas and finished projects until then.

On the longarm today…Swoon

August 3, 2016August 1, 2016 Lovelli Quilts2 Comments

I feel like I should be putting one hand on my forehead and one on my heart as I sink gracefully onto a fainting couch. But, no, it isn’t that kind of a swoon, the quilt on my longarm today is made using the pattern, Swoon, by Camille Roskelley. It is a wonderful pattern which is well written and easy to make. There are many ways to quilt a Swoon quilt top and for, me, that is one of the challenges–because I want to try them all!! For this quilt, I chose a block pattern from One Song Needle Arts which would lay nicely in the block, emphasizing the different segments of the block, and yet be a cohesive design. I always try to add ways which cause a viewer to look at a quilt and find interest from across the room, from closer, and then from closer still. One way to do that is to lay a quilting design on top of the quilt so that it doesn’t follow the piecing exactly, but it emphasizes it.

As I design a quilt layout, I look for designs which repeat motifs found in the fabric, in the piecing and/or in the applique. For the Swoon quilt I noticed that several fabrics had circles, and that several had flowers. I chose to combine several different flowers by Anita Shackelford for the sashing.

I was very pleased with the way that the quilting turned out.

Now is a great time to get started on Christmas gift piecing. I can guarantee that any quilt sent to me for quilting in August will be quilted before Christmas (custom or edge to edge).

Have a great quilting adventure!!

On the longarm today…A quilt finish…Allietare!

July 27, 2016 Lovelli Quilts1 Comment

For the last many years Bonnie Hunter does a mystery quilt starting right after Thanksgiving and ending at Christmas. I’ve wanted to play along for several years, but this year I did it! I kept up, mostly, until the last week when we welcomed out of town guests (my parents); my washing machine died; I discovered that my 1/4″ seam allowance wasn’t correct; and I needed fabric for the borders and backing. Once the holidays were over, I took out the seams which were incorrect and found a black fabric with a hint of sparkle for the border. Allietare! means to rejoice and I’m thrilled to add this quilt to my collection. Bonnie’s directions were very clear, even down to which direction to press seams, and I didn’t have any bulky seam intersections, which can be difficult for the longarm to go through.

Bonnie’s inspiration photos for the quilt and its color scheme which I mostly followed, were from her trip to Italy. I also took a trip to Italy (as a student), so I chose my memories of the marble in churches and cathedrals as my inspiration for the fabric in the quilt. Many of the fabrics have a bit of metallic shine or luster like the beautiful mosaics I saw. I was so impressed and surprised by the spectacular cathedral in Sienna, Italy, that I still remember it today, many years later. The unique multicolored stonework, inside and out, was a great inspiration for this quilt–it kept me sewing through frustration (at myself) and it inspired me to be accurate and thoughtful in my design choices.. The fabric in the quilt is almost entirely from my stash, and with the exception of the black border. (Un)fortunately, my stash still is too large–I will just have to make more quilts!!

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanyarts/siena-duomo-mosaic-floor/

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanyarts/siena-duomo-mosaic-floor/

Although I love to custom quilt my own quilts (and clients’ quilts too!). I decided that I wanted to try to do an edge to edge design, but arrange the designs so that it would look like a whole-cloth design. I really liked the Twisted Plumage design by Naomi Hynes. The quilting lets the piecing take a starring role when viewing the quilt top, but the quilting certainly becomes the main event on the back of the quilt.

I finished the outside edge of the quilt with a wavy edge and bound it with a bias binding.

Enjoy your quilting adventures!!

Matching Fabrics to Create an Invisible Seam Tutorial

August 23, 2015August 19, 2015 Lovelli Quilts2 Comments

Can you find the seam in the picture above the headline? I made this quilt, top and back. for a client who wanted a fun quilted bed topper for the holidays. When I saw the fabric she chose I thought that it would look jarring to have a seam down the center with mismatched dots and deer. However, the method I use to match seams, i.e. lots of pins, would not work with this many dots or the tiny deer. Can you imagine two pins per dot? Ouch!! I brought out my trusty glue stick instead. I was in a rush so I used the glue stick which I had on hand, an off brand. I have since found that Elmer’s Washable School Glue works better, and washes out easily (it is a starch product). I do not have a relationship with Elmer, I love their product, and it is a great time of year to stock up with back-to-school sales.

Step one: Gather tools. I use washable glue, stick or liquid, pins, seam gauge, iron.

Step two: Press a seam line. I used a seam gauge to ensure that the seam would be straight. (I removed the selvage from the seam allowance after sewing).

Step three: Place the fabric which has not been pressed right side up on your ironing board then place the pressed fabric right side up on top. Move the pressed fabric so that the print motifs on the fold match the motifs on the unpressed fabric. I pinned the fabric using pins straight up and down into my ironing board to secure the fabric while I glued it in place. I found that the glue stick was more likely to distort the fabric than a liquid glue. Heat set the glue with a hot iron.

Step four: Once the seam is glued and heat set I am ready to sew. I unfold the fabric so that the right sides are together and sew along the fold where my iron created a crease.

Correct lighting is essential–with some fabrics I might have to adjust the light falling on my sewing area so that I can see the crease, I experiment until I can see.

Here are the finished seams, selvages removed and pressed, the red arrows point to the seams:

No deer were beheaded in the making of the quilt!!

Meet Statler

February 24, 2014 Lovelli Quilts1 Comment

When I tell people that I am a longarm quilter, I am usually greeted by a blank look and then they look at my arms!lol. A longarm quilter uses an industrial sized machine to sew together the quilt ‘sandwich’ (top, batting, backing). My Statler Stitcher/Gammill machine can be either hand- or computer-guided, as a result I can quilt thousands of designs with craftmanship, artistry, and creativity. I love combining creativity with the precision which computerized quilting can bring to a project. Statler allows me to both quilt a perfect traditional 8 pointed star and a wonky star in a whimsical style.

Have you named your sewing machines? My grandmother used to call her car Betsy, and several of my friends have named their sewing machines–Bernie, Ramon, Bob etc. I thought maybe I should name mine, my first thought was S.(tatler)Teal (because, in a fit of extravagance, I decided on the optional paint job–Statler is teal with sparkles), but then I spelled it out and realized it spelled ‘steal’. I wasn’t sure I wanted to name this beautiful machine something criminal. So in the meantime its name is Statler, not a bad name, but maybe not as exciting/exotic as it could be. My sons thought I should call it Sven. What do you think? I want to make a machine cover for it with its name appliqued on it.

Statler is my first longarm machine. I certainly stepped into the deep end of the pool, monetarily and skill-wise. Most people step up to computerized quilting after they have used a hand-guided machine for a while. I certainly faced a steep learning curve when I got my machine, but my dealer, At the Heart of Quilting, showed me how to use it. They have also been available to help me when I had a couple of minor mechanical issues (all resolved thankfully in a very quick time frame, mostly due to ‘pilot’ error). I’m fairly comfortable with some of the more common problems with longarms thanks to their training and support (I haven’t had to adjust the timing yet, but I know they will help me when my machine needs it).

The biggest problem I had with longarm quilting was my own frustration at not being able to do things perfectly the first time. I know in my head that no one does anything perfectly the first time, including me, but my heart wanted perfection. It was incredibly nerve-wracking to quilt a client’s quilt, because I wanted a happy client so badly, I had a hard time even starting the quilt. Once started, I then spent several all-nighters taking out stitching which didn’t conform to my expectations. It seemed like there was so much ‘stuff’ to remember. I am so thankful for the charity quilts (Mission Stitchers, a quilting group at our church, and Quilts of Valor) and quilts pieced by friends which I quilted during this time because they allowed me to gain confidence and increase my skill level. I’ve also quilted a lot of my own tops, now all waiting on binding, and just recently I picked up some fabric panels which I will quilt to increase my skills. If you are new to longarm quilting I encourage you to try any of these methods to increase your skill and confidence. Now, I am having fun with my quilting and (mostly) achieving the good results which I expect. Have a quilty day!