Buddy Linson Quilts - 3 of 4 Quilted 12/12/2013; Buddy's Quilted 02/05/2014

Four quilts similar yet different. Three will be Christmas gifts.

Sometimes I just get a feeling about someone. Buddy is one of those. I could no more refuse to do his quilts even though the hour is late than I could stop longarming. Can't explain it.
Don't have to.

Perhaps Buddy will share the story behind these quilts. Certainly, It is not my place to do so.

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Meet Buddy & Jeannie

Cancer may have taken our loved one from us but her precious memories live on.

We met in high school interior design class, courted, married and enjoyed the miracle of family. Extended family celebrated our 43rd anniversary the last week of Jeannie’s life. She passed the 1st of October.

These quilts represent the radiant, joyful soul of Jeannie Linson. The squares are mostly from the clothes she

wore while enjoying her Cozy Cushions upholstery shop. The butterfly backing I chose remembering a beautiful day from our last trip to North Carolina in April.

In 1994 she and her best friend Lori opened Cozy Cushions. Hmm! Some folks chuckled at the name.  But let me tell you; the two new best friends were a joy to watch. Their combined talents really created some beautiful things. They reconditioned a civil war era chair for a customer in California, they built an oil rig winter curtain for Prudhoe, and they either recovered or made anything they set their hearts to. Jeannie’s little shop became one of the best in Alaska.  Cozy Cushions was a real WOW moment in Jeannie’s and the family’s life!  She made dozens of new friends and impressed all of us with her work. 

The meaning of these quilts to our kids (two daughters and a son) will be dear to them. Not only because they are from their loving Mother but because their Mom taught each of them the beauty of life and the art of sewing.

Missing her will be hard but remembering all the gorgeous things Jeannie gave us will make it easier.

I sincerely thank Dina, Brandi, Ginger and now Linda for these treasures of love that will last lifetimes. 

Buddy Linson

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Nov 29: First contact by phone. Without hesitation, I agreed to do 3 of his 4 quilts for Christmas even though the hour was late. Without hesitation, he shipped them immediately and ordered backing online.
Dec 01: Spoke to Buddy. Everything is on the way. AND he has decided to take care of the binding. That is a huge stress and load of work off me.
Dec 02: The quilt tops are here. The backing is on the way straight from the vendor. Beth was here when Buddy called & has graciously volunteered to help me get these done as promised. Gorgeous Butterfly Blue backing is on the way from Fabrics.com.
Dec 04: Buddy & I finally connected by email & he has shared his story & some photos (above). Will be using wool batting for its loft, light weight & warmth. Thank you for sharing.
Dec 05: The backing is here & I just happen to have the perfect shade for bobbins. Using a variegated on top.
Dec 06: Before Beth gets here around noon tomorrow, I want to cut the backing for all four quilts, cut the batting (&/or use some packaged wool I have ... all Quilters Dream Wool) and program IQ. I'll be winding the bobbins since none of my pre-wounds match as well. Might even get the first top prepped & ready to load. I'm thinking I will go ahead and make the binding from the extra wide backing as I trim it down for each quilt. Better get some rest first ... 
Dec 07: (Cleaned around here as absolutely necessary), did the banner, drew EQ7 rendition, did overlay. Got the backing cut for all 4 quilts, cut the batting for the 3 smaller quilts.

Blue Border

Dec 07: Changed and tensioned the threads and needle, prepped & loaded & basted. Ready to quilt tomorrow.
Dec 08: Quilting using variegated on top & blue on back. Getting show through from each thread on the other. Checked the back of the first row carefully but when I checked to roll to the third row, I did not like what I was seeing. Taking out rows 1 & 2 now while trying to figure out what to do next. Got the tension / show-thru tolerable but could not eliminate it.
Dec 09: Per Buddy, I am proceeding with our variegated / blue plan. Quilted. Once unloaded, the show-thru does not show without close-up scrutiny.
Dec 10: Final pictures. Beth & I squared the quilt. For three quilts, Beth cut binding strips & I pieced them.
Dec 11: Shipped. Buddy is planning to do the hand binding himself -- THAT is impressive!
Dec 16: Quilt arrived. Buddy absolutely loved the variegated. No one (but Beth) will ever know how much time & effort & ripping & redoing I did with this quilt to get it the best I could.

Purple Border

Dec 10: Prepped. Loaded. Quilting. Started with variegated but quickly switched to blue thread top & back. Ripping the first few stitches, I just could not go thru what I did on the first one again. Quilted. Couldn't have done it without Beth's help rolling and basting. Just having her here after her long days of social work is so much appreciated.
Dec 11: Squared. Stay stitched the perimeter of both squared quilts. Pressed bindings. Shipped.
Dec 17: Quilt arrived after causing us a bit of a scare yesterday.

Teal Border

Dec 11: Using blue thread top & back. Prepped, loaded, quilted.
Dec 12: Squared & edges secured. Shipped.
Dec 16: Quilt arrived.

Gold Border

Dec 12: After I finish the other quilts in the queue. This quilt is two blocks wider & two blocks longer than the others. Will also quilt it with two layers of wool batting.
Dec 16: Now having seen the quilts, Buddy wants variegated on his even though
Jan 27: I am finally back at it working on Buddy's quilt. It was too large for my machine so I have now trimmed it down. I thought I had the backing ready to go except for pressing but it needed 10" trimmed too. Trying to fold a 106 x 112 piece of backing down to a size that can be trimmed is far harder than it sounds. I think I folded and refolded about 6 times before I got it right. The backing ready to load. I also cut the two pieces of wool batting.Nesting them and lining them up will be as much if not more of a challenge than trimming the backing. Still need to press the wrong & then right side of the top. This quilt is huge, maxing out my system. Handling such large & heavy material is something I have to do a bit at a time. My dear helper, Beth, is not available due to family illness. Hopefully I can everything done & ship this by Wednesday. It helps to have an intention even if I don't meet my goals. And that's more than I should have said about that.
Jan 28: Quilt is loaded & basted...ready to quilt. With fresh snow on the ground, nothing will ship until Monday.
Feb 02: Quilting.
Feb 04: Near the end. This quilt is two blocks wider and two blocks longer than the other three making it twice the size (49 vs. 25 square blocks).
Feb 05: Quilted & shipped.