Under my needle

 It's time I posted the latest quilt tops on my frame!  The first one is a customer's quilt and she made a 2nd one just like it only with a blue theme.  I used a pantograph called Let Love Bloom which has hearts and swirls in it.

This quilt top is also a customer's quilt.  It's a wonderful Christmas quilt called "Over the River".  I used a pantograph with snowflakes on this quilt.

In memory - George Chamberlain

 

George was a veteran of World War II. He rarely spoke of his time in the war. After the war, he came back home on the aircraft carrier, the USS North Carolina. He visited the ship in 1996 with his son, Jim. The USS North Carolina is docked in Wilmington, NC and is a museum. 

After the war, George returned to Arkansas. He married June Andrews on Christmas Eve 1946 in Benton, Georgia. They eventually moved to Hardin county, Iowa. George farmed for Jesse and Martha North, living on a farm near Whitten, IA. They raised 4 children. 

George was eventually adopted by Jesse and Martha North and upon their death they left the farms to George. George and June moved to the farm in New Providence in the 1980s. He bought a truck in the mid 1980s and drove from coast to coast. In 1991, the US was in the midst of Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Iraq. George had a contract with the US government, carrying nuclear warheads from California to North Carolina. As you can imagine, he was tracked by satelite, the FBI and he could travel only secondary roads from coast to coast. And at every town he had to radio ahead and wait for police, firetrucks and haz-mat crews to escort him through town. It took 2 weeks to travel from sea to shining sea.

He was a great father-in-law and grandpa.  We will miss him very much.

ByAnnie patterns

 I made my second Running with Scissors and Take a Stand totes this past week.  There are many ByAnnie patterns.  Annie makes all kinds of patterns for totes, bags and duffels.  The first set I made a couple years ago and sold them to a customer who wanted them really, really bad.  LOL  So of course I needed to make another set!  

Running with Scissors is a bit challenging to make but if you take your time and take breaks in between steps it's manageable. Take a Stand is easier.  I would recommend cutting the binding for the tote body at 2-1/2" rather than 2-1/4" though.

Unexpected time off

 I have a couple weeks off from longarming due to an error code I was getting on my robotics.  I had to ship the motor to Utah for repair.  I have 15 quilt tops waiting for me when it gets shipped back though so I hope they fix it quickly!!

In the meantime, I'm using this time to sew for my grandchildren, ages 5, 2 and 10 months.  I haven't made clothing in over 20 years, since my son was little, and I'm a little rusty at it!  I made pajamas using this pattern and decided to use flannel.  

Flower Girl

I made this quilt top using my Featherweight and had it hanging on my design wall for months waiting for me to find the time to longarm it. It's done now! This was a Jolly Bar quilt kit from the Fat Quarter Shop, the fabric collection is called Flower Girl.

Difference in Thread Weights

 I don't remember where I found this photo, but it's a great visual of the various thread weights available today.  50 wt is what I use on my long arm.  40 wt is usually used on embroidery machines as well as quilt piecing and sewing garments.  I use 70 wt thread for bobbin thread on my embroidery machine.

How to get perfect longarm tension

 Jamie Wallen shared a video 12 years ago about how to get perfectly balanced tension and it's been watched by over a quarter million longarmers.  It's the best instruction I've seen that explains how to fix problems you might be having with your stitching.

Latest quilt on my frame

 It's been beautiful in NC the last few days!  I've had my windows open every day and the breeze is wonderful as I work on my longarm machine.  This is the latest quilt on the frame.  It's 110"x110" and it belongs to a customer.