The Smiling Quilter Blog

What's Happening at the Cabin

1/22/2019

2019 Postal Rate Increases

Longarming Queue

Start to Finish Quilts

How Long Will It Take?
The infamous question, no?
Think 2-3 panto quilts per week depending on
unforeseeable circumstances.
We all know how those can be!

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Dec 24: Around noon, I got an email from Craig Evans about my UNC Tarheels Quilt. This is a modified version enlarged to queen size 68 x 88.
Dec 26: Plan is finalized, fabric is ordered.
Dec 29: The flannel novelty prints are here & they are awesome.
Jan 02, 2019: Solid fabrics are here. Not sure the orange & navy are the best match so I have ordered a Kaufman Kona Cotton Color Card.
Jan 03: Pre-washed the white fabric.
Jan 07: Proposed lettering quilting patterns.
Jan 17: Returning the Orangeade fabric. Ordered Tangerine in its place.

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Tarheels Attic Windows

12/24/2018

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Dec 24: Around noon, I got an email from Craig Evans about my UNC Tarheels Quilt. This is a slightly modified version enlarged to king size.
Dec 26: Plan is finalized, fabric is ordered.
Dec 29: The flannel backing is here & it is awesome.
Jan 02, 2019: All the rest of the fabrics are here.
Jan 03: Pre-washed the white fabric.
Jan 07: Proposed lettering quilting patterns.
Jan 17: Returning Blueberry fabric that worked on previous quilt because the feature fabric had some light blue but not so good for this one. Using me new Kona color card, I ordered Prairie Sky in its place.

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Giants Attic Windows

12/24/2018

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Dec 24: Around noon, I got an email from Craig Evans about my UNC Tarheels Quilt. This is a modified version enlarged to king size.
Dec 26: Plan is finalized, fabric is ordered.
Jan 02, 2019: All of these fabrics are here except the "ny" and the helmet.
Jan 03: Pre-washed the white fabric.
Jan 07: Proposed lettering quilting patterns. Finally the small "ny" and the helmet logos came in so sketches are now accurate.

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Olivia - Quilted & Bound 12/21/2018

12/19/2018

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Erin: This quilt, pieced by Granny Verlene, was intended for her daughter, Olivia, who passed away in 2007 or so. Verlene barely started the quilting. She had the quilt sandwich together & quilted just the center most section.
I'm not 100% sure why she never finished. Maybe it was because Olivia died or quite possibly because she couldn't physically handle hand piecing quilts by herself anymore. She made everyone in her family a quilt. She was always tinkering with some kind of craft if not for quilting. She did small fabric art pieces when she couldn't hand quilt anymore. She moved to Glen Bridge when she could no longer live by herself.

My husband and I moved into her house 3 years ago. I found this quilt under a bed in a bag and made it my responsibility to see this quilt put together properly so that we can gift it to Olivia's sister, my mother-in-law, Elaine McGuire. I've been asking around for help to finish this quilt for the past few years but never had any luck until I called Linda yesterday! Perfect timing. Granny Verlene passed away a few weeks ago and I know Elaine is going to love this surprise. She wanted it finished as well but of course she'll never get around to it so I'm glad I could find Linda to help me. This will also be my first Christmas spent with my in-laws so my husband and I are thrilled to have this quilt finished now! I can't wait to see the look on Elaine's face when she sees how beautiful this unfinished quilt has become. This quilt will live forever with Elaine in memory of Verlene Roark and Olivia Greene. (12/20/2018)

Dec 19: Erin called this afternoon with a hand pieced quilt she wanted finished. Not sure exactly what that meant, I invited her to the cabin.She came right over. Finished meant take apart a quilt sandwich intended for hand quilting, longarm & machine bind it. Since December is more than half gone, I decided I had one more quilt in me before Christmas. We took the layers apart then prepped & loaded everything.
Dec 20: Quilting. Quilted. Binding. Bound. Erin arrived at noon. She baby sat the nearly 350 minutes of longarming making sure all of the edges of the Dresden plates were stitched down and smoothing fabric to minimize puckers. We snacked on nuts & other goodies from nut.com & drank water, tea & coffee to keep us going. Erin left at 1:15 AM with her finished quilt. Not only productive but also a delightful day.

Sharing three of Granny Verlene's quilts

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4-Star Mini Quilt - Quilted 12/31/2018

12/13/2018

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Nov 19: First contact.
Dec 13: Quilt is in my mailbox.
Dec 16: Was able to get out of my driveway late today. So glad this quilt is safe & sound.
Dec 29: Programmed a couple of densities for Denise to pick between,
Dec 30: Quilting.
Dec 31: Quilted.

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RWB #15

12/12/2018

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Dec 12: At the post office due to weather.
Dec 17: It's here. Amazing artistry.
Dec 21: Prepped & loaded.
Dec 22: Quilting.
Dec 23: Took the day off.
Dec 24: Quilted.

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Frank's Quilt - Finished 11/28

11/25/2018

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Nov 26: Frank is a once in a lifetime friend. He'll be 99 next April. Now in assisted living, we got away for an afternoon here at the cabin. When I showed him this fabric his eyes it up. He agreed to accept a small quilt if I made it for him. Top priority. Quilted & binding.
Nov 28: Bound.

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Jipco Table Topper - Quilted 11/30/2018

11/24/2018

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Nov 24: Got a gorgeous preview.
Nov 30: Doing overlays. Quilted.

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Shades of Blue-Green Jelly Roll Quilt - Quilted 12/29/2018

11/23/2018

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Nov 23: Pieced by Paula Ginn.
Dec 29: Quilted.

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Steelers - Quilted 12/02/2018

11/21/2018

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Nov 21: Wow.
Nov 30: Prepped. Loading.
Dec 01: Programming.
Dec 02: Quilted.

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Nautical Flags & Logo

11/20/2018

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Medical Practice Logo

Planning

Nov 20: My friend, Narciso Gomez, is here from Florida for the family's annual Thanksgiving hiatus from all things medical. The whole Gomez Family is rather fond of my quilts. Narci designed his ideal quilt last night using nautical flags to spell out family initials & including his medical shield. He also wants just the shield for his office. Thinking embroidered fleur de lis, letters & shield border. Metallic gold fabric for the border & binding.
Nov 21: Spent the day drawing Narci's ideas.
Nov 22: Narci stopped in long enough to choose his favorite. Later I joined the family & friends for Thanksgiving dinner. I polished off the design & I have located fabrics I think will work. Just need Narci's final OK. And some lettering if I dont decide to longarm those.
Nov 23: Fabrics, t-shirt & fleur de lis patches are ordered.
Nov 26: T-shirt is here.
Nov 29: Fleur de Lis patches are here.
Dec 03: Fabrics are here.
Dec 23: Letters "Gomez" & "Surgical" are here. All set.

Quilt

Shield Wall Hanging

Making the Quilt & Shield

Jan 3, 2019: Pre-washed all fabrics & all the white for 4 quilts.
Jan 05: Started cutting.
Jan 06: Finishing the cutting. Ready to start sewing.
Jan 08: Working on the flag blocks first.
Jan 08: 18 of 20 flag blocks are together. Need squaring.
Jan 09: Corrected some mistakes on yesterday's blocks while squaring. Center blocks are ready. Tomorrow will connect the blocks in the horizontal block rows with the sashing in between & start on the center.
Jan 10-17: Been sick this week.Back to quilting soon.
Jan 18: Working on center block.
Jan 21: Center block is done & the last flag blocks are done.
Jan 22: Blocks are connected into rows & columns as show in P1.

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Three Heirloom Quilts - 1st Finished 12/11/2018, 2nd Finished 12/15/2018

11/12/2018

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Frances Hunt's heirloom quilts were pieced and given to her by her Aunt Emma. She wants them finished & used.The 1st two are to be Christmas presents for her daughters, the 3rd is for herself. She wants all three of them enlarged with enough border to make them queen size with an 8" drop. She took them home to select fabrics. She & her husband want to participate in the longarming process when their schedules allow. Any assistance I can get handling, pressing, loading and rolling such large quilts would be welcomed, especially at this late date.

Nov 12: Frances & husband dropped by with the pieced tops. We worked well into the evening measuring, planning and shopping for backing & border fabrics.
Nov 13: Spent the day canceling an order, locating fabric options, doing quotes, emailing & chatting on the phone.
Nov 14: Started this BLOG post.
Nov 15: Added backing images selected/ordered by Francis.
Nov 17: Backing fabrics are here. Will pre-wash after Frances confirms this is what she wants.

Charmed 9-Patch - Quilted 12/10/2018, Bound 12/11/2018

Nov 28: Frances & Mac came by. I prewashed the backing while my quests started removing the blocks we want to rearrange.
Dec 03: Putting this quilt back together.
Dec 05: Prepped ready to load.
Dec 08: Programmed.
Dec 09: Quilting.
Dec 10: Quilted.
Dec 11: Binding is finished.

Nine Patch - Quilted 12/15/2018, Bound 12/15/2018

Dec 11: Pre-washed.
Dec 12: Quilt top is prepped. Loaded ready to quilt.
Dec 14: Quilting.
Dec 15: Quilted. Bound.

16-Patch

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Fire Doggies in the Window - Quilted 11/24/2018

11/10/2018

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Nov 10: Quilt arrived. Wow.
Nov 19: Prepped ready to load. Using pattern Minaret with Tan thread.
Nov 21: Quilting.
Nov 24: Quilted.

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Piggies Quilt for a Newborn - Quilted 11/29/2018

11/10/2018

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Nov 10: Just waiting on the baby's birthday.
Nov 21: The baby is born.
Nov 29: Quilted.

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Hop, Skip & Jump!

11/6/2018

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Making this quilt for Alicia Miller
Dec 24, 2016: Purchased 3 charm packs from Ye Olde Forest Quilt Shop during their annual stocking stuffer promotion.
Nov 06, 2018: Today, my friend & very special lady, Alicia, selected this for her quilt. We've been working up to this for several months now. Can't wait to get started.
Nov 07: Working on a rendition.
Nov 08: Ordered fabric for background, borders, binding & backing.
Nov 13: All fabrics are here.

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Hoops Quilt - Quilted 11/11/2018

10/9/2018

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2 of 2 quilts pieced by Debra: Basketball and hoops - for my nieces who are sisters and play basketball

Circles, circles everywhere & not a square in sight.
Oct 09: Quilt arrived.
Oct 17: Programmed.
Oct 18: Cutting batting.
Nov 04: Fixing top & bottom leaders.
Nov 05: Backing is prepped ready to load.
Nov 06: Backing is loaded. Showing how leaders work. On this quilt, only needed them on top & bottom with the backing centered between them.
Nov 09: Top is prepped ready to load. Have a pending question about the batting.
Nov 10: Quilting.
Nov 11: Quilted.
Nov 12: Final pictures. Will ship tomorrow since today is Veterans Day--a public holiday held on the anniversary of the end of World War I (November 11) to honor US veterans and victims of all wars. It replaced Armistice Day in 1954.

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Basketball Quilt - Quilted 10/26/2018

10/9/2018

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1 of 2 quilts pieced by Debra: Basketball and hoops - for my nieces who are sisters and play basketball

Oct 09: Quilt arrived.
Oct 14: Programmed.
Oct 18: Cutting batting.
Oct 23: Prepped, loaded, quilting.
Oct 26: Quilted.
Oct 27: Final pics. Shipped.

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Noah's Ark for a Baby - Quilted 10/08/2018

10/4/2018

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Oct 08: Quilted

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Rozie's Quilt - Quilted 10/02/2018

10/2/2018

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Sep 20: First contact. Since Roxie lives in nearby West Jefferson, we set a date to do her quilt together.
Oct 02: Rozie is here today helping longarm her quilt. We are using a meander by Nancy Haacke with Bottom Line #610 Light Blue thread and Warm & White batting.Yeah! We finished!

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RWB #14 - Quilted 10/06/2018

9/26/2018

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Sep 26: Quilt arrived. Prepped the backing.
Sep 29: Top prepped ready to load.
Oct 03: Loaded. Using Bottom Line #623 Silver thread to quilt Stars pantograph by Dave Hudson.
Oct 04: Quilting.
Oct 06: Quilted.

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For a Newborn - Quilted 08/26/2018

8/22/2018

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Aug 23: Prepped.
Aug 26: Quilted.

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Tracy's Quilt for her Dad - Quilted 08/20/2018

8/17/2018

4 Comments

From Tracy

Linda, I cannot thank you enough for helping me complete this project for my father. My father announced to the family on July 6th that he had a health issue that was progressing quickly and that he was unsure of what the next few months held for all of us. This rocked our world. The thought of losing him was not something I wanted to entertain. I realize that each day we are given by our Creator is one to cherish. I try to stop and smell the roses, tell the ones I care about that I love them and be kind to other people. These things I learned from my Dad. Over a months time, he has declined rapidly. not sure how many "see you tomorrow" 's we have.
I have not been quilting long and my Dad has always loved the ones that I have created. It takes me TOO long to hand

quilt one, so I contacted Linda with questions and she said she would help me as much as she could. Her guidance is valued. When the quilt top that I pulled from my stash did not work out, it was Linda that suggested that making a new one might be easier than fixing the old one. I decided on a new pattern and using fabrics that I loved in my stash, I made a Quilt for Dad. Praying that Dad gets to use the quilt that I made for him. My apologies to anyone that I may be inconveniencing on Linda's to do list. Thanks to Linda for understanding the importance of this gift.
Prayers for my Dad are appreciated. Prayers of peace for him, strength for my Mom and the others of us that love him so.

Jul 22: First contact.
Aug 17: Quilt arrived. Started on overlays.
Aug 18: A lover of guitars and music, Tracy & found the perfect Ellen Munnich pattern, Free Motion Guitar. Programmed. Prepped ready to load.
Aug 19: Loaded. Quilting.
Aug 20: Quilted.
Aug 24: From Tracy: "His smile says it all!"

4 Comments

RWB #13 For a special friend - Quilted 08/30/2018

8/17/2018

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Aug 17: Quilt is here. Considered off white thread, decided on Bottom Line Gold & Modern Squares.
Aug 28: Loaded.
Aug 29: Quilting.
Aug 30: Quilted, posted in Gallery, shipped.

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Sonata by Cozy Quilt Designs

8/9/2018

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Aug 09: Saw this pattern in the Ye Olde Forest monthly newsletter that came out today. Love it! Bought it! Played with it. Drew it. Now searching for fabrics. Turns out that the hard part.

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<<Previous

What's Happening at the Cabin

Syracuse Attic Windows

Tarheels Attic Windows

Giants Attic Windows

Olivia - Quilted & Bound 12/21/2018

4-Star Mini Quilt - Quilted 12/31/2018

RWB #15

Frank's Quilt - Finished 11/28

Jipco Table Topper - Quilted 11/30/2018

Shades of Blue-Green Jelly Roll Quilt - Quilted 12/29/2018

Steelers - Quilted 12/02/2018

Nautical Flags & Logo

Planning

Quilt

Shield Wall Hanging

Making the Quilt & Shield

Three Heirloom Quilts - 1st Finished 12/11/2018, 2nd Finished 12/15/2018

Charmed 9-Patch - Quilted 12/10/2018, Bound 12/11/2018

Nine Patch - Quilted 12/15/2018, Bound 12/15/2018

16-Patch

Fire Doggies in the Window - Quilted 11/24/2018

Piggies Quilt for a Newborn - Quilted 11/29/2018

Hop, Skip & Jump!

Hoops Quilt - Quilted 11/11/2018

Basketball Quilt - Quilted 10/26/2018

Noah's Ark for a Baby - Quilted 10/08/2018

Rozie's Quilt - Quilted 10/02/2018

RWB #14 - Quilted 10/06/2018

For a Newborn - Quilted 08/26/2018

Tracy's Quilt for her Dad - Quilted 08/20/2018

From Tracy

RWB #13 For a special friend - Quilted 08/30/2018

Sonata by Cozy Quilt Designs

Categories

Archives

Planning

Quilt

Shield Wall Hanging

Making the Quilt & Shield

Charmed 9-Patch - Quilted 12/10/2018, Bound 12/11/2018

Nine Patch - Quilted 12/15/2018, Bound 12/15/2018

16-Patch

​From Tracy

Categories

Archives

From Tracy