Virtual Retreat 2016

[Geneva C.]

Wow - Geneva and Lotti!
Love both of your baby quilts! Geneva fun to use flannels and fun to use your cutter too. Lotti neat to make a two sided quilt, I like each sides whimsy.

Barb

[Annis C.]

Great baby quilts, Geneva and Lotti! Always fun to make but no more little ones for me. They grow up too fast.

My miniature quilt received 2nd place in the Small Traditional category at the Dallas Quilt Show. Now I can share the finished quilt and a couple close-ups. Thanks to Sue Garman for the inspiration.

[Annis C.]

Wow Annis Congratulations on your 2nd place in the Small Traditional category! Your quilt is absolutly stunning, I love everything you've done, the more I look the more I see.

Barb :-)

[wendy w.]

Another wow from me Annis. It's very lovely, the tiny quilting in the centre panel looks yummy. Well done!

[Geneva C.]

Annis, congratulations! What are the dimensions of your miniature? It is beautiful. The quilting is amazing. ..

Geneva

[Geneva C.]

Annis,
And a big WOWSERS!!!
Absolutely love everything about it! You said that Sue Garman inspired you. Was it a quilt she made, techniques, or something else? I think hearing about the inspirations, and what impacted your choices along the way, would be very interesting. I know you're a busy person, so doing all that writing may be more than your time permits. BUT, even if you did it for yourself and posted a copy for the rest of us to read, we'd be grateful.
I'm going to return to these pictures for inspiration. I'm crushing on that wavy ribbon border, just beyond the buttoned lattice.
Luann

[Jules M.]

Geneva - very cute baby quilt! I'm not a saver of those tiny triangles. :blush: Good for you - and they make the quilt sparkle with bursts of color! I also use flannel on the backs but we have cold winters.

Lotti -- love your baby quilt! I'm glad you got it done in time and hope your trip is going well. Smart with the 2 sides. I need to consider some animals on the back of my next baby quilt!

Annis -- I love it that you made your quilt in miniature! I enjoy miniatures so much. Very well done!

[Anne B.]

Lotti & Geveva great baby quilts!! You inspire me to start making one for number 5 that will be due in June! Love, Love those babies, just wish they were closer.
Annis congrats on your ribbon on your miniature quilt, what is the actual size of it? Really a beautiful quilt!
Hey Lotti, what part of the states are you going to? Don't you know its cold in the great white north this time of year? Enjoy your trip!

[Jules M.]

Last weekend I finished a baby quilt for someone special. It is hand dyed silk/cotton blend and I designed the quilting myself, too. About 40" x 55". The mom of the baby was in awe and so shocked I made it for her. That really warmed me. I've been slowly teaching her about quilts by showing her what I do. Before she knew it was for her, she said to sign her up for the silk/cotton fabric!



The back is a Moda flannel in cream. Just luscious! And so cuddly compared to the cheap flannel that many want to use.



Yesterday we went to Chicago to see our daughter for the day. Today is my husband's birthday and food is his language so he likes her to find a good place for his birthday lunch. We had Dino BBQ. DD said it is a chain but we don't have one in our rural area. It was yummy! We have a son as well (he is in college) so he wasn't along.

[Jules M.]

Oops.... double post! :P

[wendy w.]

Fabulous fabric and your quilting is wonderful. Happy days

[Anne B.]

Another beautiful baby quilt...and the quilting!! I really love all those feathers!! I'm from Chicago, (we left because of the weather and the traffic), how I miss that amazing food!! Every time I go home, about all I do is eat and drink that fabulous Lake Michigan water!! Southern Arizona is a wonderful place to live, but there are things I will always miss about Chicago.

[Anne B.]

EAT PIZZA FOR ME LOTTI!!! LOVE THAT LOU'S & UNO'S!!!

[Jules M.]

Our daughter loves the city and doesn't want to leave. Sadly, as it is such a hassle to get in there!! She was "mostly likely to farm" (I thought with a son-in-law!) and then went to the School of the Art Institute in Fashion Design and totally fell in love with the city! It is a hard day of travel in & out on me.

My uncle lived on Michigan Ave for years and they loved it as well!

[Annis C.]

Another lovely baby quilt, Joyce!

Thanks, everyone. There were a lot of great quilts at the show that didn't get a ribbon. It was an honor to get one on mine. The quilt finished at about 23" square. It was a redesign of the TQS 2011 BOM Ruffled Roses, inspired by the center applique found in EQ, slightly modified and with added hearts. The ribbon applique was also from EQ. I used leftover fabric from the king size quilt I made using the TQS 2009 BOM for my inspiration.

All of the appliques on the quilt were simplified or replaced with pieced blocks. There was a lot of paper piecing done with tape to hold the pieces in place, especially the 4-patch blocks which were strip-pieced first then paper pieced with the triangles. I haven't taken time yet to count the number of pieces in the quilt. The quilted circles near the center measure 5/16", the 4-patch blocks slightly over 1/2", the 4-patch posies are 1-1/2", and the feathers in the outer border are 2-3/8" x 3/4".

There was a lot of stitch-in-the-ditch and outline quilting before getting started on the decorative quilting, and lots of thread ends to hide. For the quilting templates, I designed them in Illustrator and printed them on vellum paper or clear full sheet labels, then either sewed on the line or around the cutout shapes with a walking foot. Each of the beads and buttons took about 10 minutes to sew on with invisible thread and a bead on the back. The quilting was a slow process and took about 8 weekends. I'm so glad it's finished!