long arm quilting adventures

I sent my Raspberry Ripple quilt to a long arm quilter to be quilted. I had never used a quilter before but I wanted to having this top done because it is a gift and I can't do quilts this big on my little machine. I won "half price quilting" from Joanne during a blog contest she had so it was a sign I needed to send her the top.

It is a little freaky sending a top out to someone you don't know. You spend a lot of time and money on quilts so you don't want anything to happen. I had looked through Joanne's web site before winning and was really impressed with a couple things. First, I could afford her prices! Second, she maintains her blog with pictures of the quilts she works on and her work was lovely!

I contacted her and she responded quickly with information about sending in my quilt top. I have no clue about quilting, so I really liked that she was comfortable making choices about my top for me - what color thread to use, what pattern to use for the design. I'm not super fussy and liked all the quilts on the blog, so I figured mine would look good too!

I shipped my top out along with batting and backing and a little over a month later it came back. She boxed it up very well to protect it from the post office. I requested tracking on the box (because I'm paranoid) and she did this without a problem. I was also surprised at how cheap it is to mail a quilt - I did priority mail and it was only ten bucks each way!

When I pulled the completed quilt out I loved what I found. She had picked a wavy design with tan thread that matched my background. The stitches looked great! A couple areas were a little puckered but those were my fault - you know, you get those blocks that don't want to be flat because you messed up sewing them a bit :0) She did a great job with my top. I'll be sending more out.

If you need a top or two long arm quilted, I recommend her work. I think the max size she works with are queen tops and basic loops and meandering costs only $65 for this sized top! She has a lot of patterns and a real talent for picking patterns for doing fancy computer designs and these cost one cent an inch, which is comparable to other places I saw.

beejeebers!

I've joined my first virtual quilting bee - beejeebers! Pretty exciting, huh? I've done block swaps before through AFA so I'm super excited to do a bee. I love making and sharing projects and completing tops from swap blocks. There is just something super fun about combining all the fun from your buddies into a beautiful quilt. My month is October, so I won't get my blocks until then. But for the next year, I'll be making a block for my bee buddy and sending it to them based on their desires. I just hope I have scraps in the correct colors!

Some of my worries about being in a bee:

1) A lot of players like modern quilting. I do more traditional but I dabble in modern quilting. I just hope my creative powers will be working when the modern blocks come knocking! I don't think this will be a big issue. I'm good at sewing stuff together so I'll manage here.

2) Stash power. I started buying "better quality" fabric in the last year or so so my stash is a good mix of all kinds of stuff. I have a problem with the term "better quality" because quality isn't a brand name as much as something you can tell from the fabric. If it is thick and has a good weave it is quality to me. I don't buy see though fabric or fabric that is thin. But I worry that my definition won't match others in the bee. I can't afford to buy designer lines all the time. I don't have a ton of modern prints. So I hope I have enough stash power.

3) Colors! Neutrals are at the heart of a lot of modern quilting. I started using Kona solids last year because they are much better than the cheaper stuff they sell at Joanns (which I have some of, but I do like Kona!). Problem is that Kona comes in a zillion colors. Kona White, Kona Snow, Kona Bone... just some of the whites! I can get my paws on some neutrals but I worry I won't be able to find stuff. I can't order online - just too much money to do each month. I need a coupon and a sale at Joanns! So I hope I can find what I need at Jojos (my term for Joanns!) or Hobby Lobby (uh, I don't care for that place but they carry a lot of Kona). I've never seen Kona Snow and I'm currently hunting for Kona Ash for the January block.

4) Flakes and droppers. I've always done centralized swaps, so the idea of a bee like this is new to me since it would be possible for someone to flake out after their month and **frowny face** the group. I hope this isn't going to be the case.

So those are my thoughts at this point. We'll see how this rolls as 2012 gets going.

christmas tree pants

I've got a super late start to the Christmas Tree Pants sew along. Better late than never, right?

I decided to make one for my mom, mostly because she has wanted a homemade tree skirt (or pants) for a few years now. I am also making one for my sister. Both are in progress between finals grading and setting up my winter course. The red is for my sister and the blue is for mommers.

This is what the block will look like. I'm working on getting the blocks done. This blue/white fabric has micro glitter on it. Sparkles! It is kind of a pain to work with - I think it is more stretchy than most cottons. Or I just don't like bias seams. Or I need to use more starch. :)